Fishing - Even the Wolves Know It is Fun & Relaxing!

Wolf on winter hunt---from Microsoft Clipart

 

I have been a fisherman(lady) since I was a child.  My father was an avid fisherman, and passed his love of fishing to all of his children.  What we learned was that it really did not matter whether you caught any fish.  The important part of the fishing trip was the companionship, being out either along the water or on the water (lake, river) and the spirit of competition between the angler and the fish.  Most of the catch was released because it was too small to make good eating.

It is with delight that I read the headline - Canadian Wolves Favor Salmon over Deer Meat: Study-  http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080902/tsc-canada-animal-fish-food-c2ff8aa.html.  What makes this fun for me, is that one of the best challenges for fishing is often the salmon, when it is in season.  The wolves probably enjoy the sport, even though they are seriously looking at the fish as food supply.  Fishing has to be a great change from running all over after deer or moose.

The article talks about the wolves enjoying the salmon in the fall, and that it may be a safety issue because of the potential damage that the deer may do.  It seems more likely to me that the wolves realize that the fall is hunting season, and prefer to be away from the big game animals that are hunted at this time.  Wolves are highly intelligent and seem to operate from a group consciousness.  Logic would say that as hunting of deer in the west has increased, the wolves will make themselves scarce while trigger-happy man has his gun out.

The other thought that occurs is that the salmon during spawning time are quite single minded about heading back up stream and the salmon do not pay particular attention to what is going on around them.  The wolf would note that the prey is easy to catch - they simply watch the bears - and wade in to pick up dinner. 

I wonder how long it will be before the bears want the wolves to be licensed!

Judith