OUR VIEW: Valley Voices — Wolf’s death brings out our animal instincts

Published 6:00 am Thursday, June 22, 2023

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The death of a year-old wolf last week on a stretch of OR138 north of Crater Lake has brought about seemingly nonstop howling from another type of animal.

Humans.

The June 14 story, “Male wolf struck, killed by vehicle 30 miles north of Crater Lake,” has become, by far, the most commented-upon story ever posted to our Facebook page — with more than 2,300 emoji reactions — nearly equally split between those who were “sad” about the story and those who either “liked” it or posted a “Haha” smilie — along with more than 750 comments and 150 shares.

What this says about the debate over wolves roaming the forests of the Rogue Valley is obvious: Lines have been solidly drawn between those sympathetic to the reintroduction of the species, and those bewildered or angry about their presence.

As with all social media battles, disinformation and disrespect abounds. What follows is a sampling of comments that take the temperature of a very heated issue.

— Good start

— Is there a GoFundMe to fix the vehicle?

— It has a dent in the bumper, I think fish and wildlife should pay for it. They shipped the darn wolf in!

— A dead wolf is a good wolf.

— A dead wild animal is a good wild animal? … You ain’t right in the head.

— No loss that I can see, knock out more of them

— The lack of empathy for other living things, predator or not, is disgusting, and really shows the lack of emotional maturity in a lot of “adults” on here.

— Too bad he missed the whole pack.

— 1 down 147 more to go!

— Thank God.

— God has nothing to do with killing what god has created. Humans are cancer and destroying the planet, wolves don’t.

— Wolves are native to Oregon. Why don’t they belong here? We killed them all off in the ‘40s or ‘50s but now they’re back.

— A non-native wolf was reintroduced by our fish and game department, they’re wreaking havoc on livestock and game animals across the West. A dead wolf is a good wolf.

— Saves one bullet.

— The wolves need to be relocated to the densely populated areas around Salem, Portland, Eugene and Ashland where the majority of the support for introducing non-native wolves into the state is. The wolf experts can facilitate the coexistence of concrete campers and wolves.

— It’s nothing but a dog. That’s what happens to dogs that run out into traffic. Deal with it.

— Just what we need is wolves that have no fear of humans … NOT

— Dang I’ve been driving that (road) everyday and someone else hit the lotto.

— This whole comment thread makes me feel like there should be a new Hitler but for all the yuppies and rednecks of Southern Oregon.

— God and Karma and hopefully animals someday will take care of those who think this is good or funny in any way!

— Every ******* one of them need to be killed and hung from the fence posts as yard art.

— There’s no reason for the reintroduced wolf to benefit the forest, except for a carcass rotting away for fertilizer.

— As much as I don’t want wolves, why would any fool want an animal to suffer? Not all animals hit by a car die right away.

— Let’s bring back Grizzly Bears and maybe a (velociraptor) or T-Rex too. Some things are best left alone; poor wolf, but had it growled at me in the woods it would be toast then too. You can scoop a rattlesnake off of the path but wolfy will eat you.

— Is everyone nuts?

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