Wolves and Gators.

No, this isn't a football matchup. It looks like Wyoming is having the same problems with wolves as Louisiana had with gators twenty years ago.

Guys on the ground, the wildlife managers and the ranchers know how many wolves are on their ground. Any person who works the land knows what is on his land. Some predators can be tolerated, some cannot.

I knew, for example of a bobcat that lived behind my pond. Saw it regularly. Told the kids not to molest it. It kept the mouse population down. I also knew of a panther that lived in the woods behind the house. I didn't mind it being out there either and was fairly certain that it would maintain its distance from livestock. The coyotes that roamed the bayous and hilltops bothered me more than the feline predators. A pack of coyotes will do some damage if they focus on a lifestock animal, plus, they hunt at night so you often don't find the damage till the next morning.

The folks who come up with regulations are often slower than the folks who work outside to arrive at suitable regulations for the treatment of predators. We saw this when alligators were making their comeback from endangered to commonly seen.

One afternoon I found a gator in my pond. I knew they were still protected, so I called the Fish & Wildlife guy. "Don't you have a rifle?" he asked. I got the message. From that day forward I managed my predators on my land. Sometimes, the only thing you can do is shoot, shovel, and shut-up. We call it the 3-S's and it accounts for big part of my management plan.

The Wyoming ranchers have probably all ready adopted it.