Wolf Eradication in the United States

An estimated 250,000 wolves called the North American continent home before the European’s disruptive arrival.  Early white settlers of the states brought with them a deep hatred for the canine creature. In 1630, more than 100 years before the birth of the country, wolf bounties were posted in the colonies*. This practice of wolf bounties continued in the US for the next 300 years, only ending with the last wolf bounties in the 1960’s.

The feverous drive westward of Manifest Destiny was accompanied by a similarly enthusiastic slaughtering of the wolf. In 1818 Ohio enacted the “War of Extermination” against all animals considered vermin, chief of which was the wolf. During the Lewis and Clark expedition, the journals of the explorers note that wolves were actively hunted, with 36 individual animals slain by the party.

Over trapping of the beaver throughout the 1800’s led to an even more dogged pursuit of wolves, as their furs now had increased value in European markets. A new type of hunter was born, the “Wolfer”, who made a decent living off of collecting bounties on dead wolves. It was seen as a simple matter, wolves killed livestock, decreasing profits, thus making them outlaw creatures. One common way to collect large amounts of pelts was to poison bison carcasses, a favored food source for the wolf. 20-30 unaware wolves could be killed after feeding of a single tainted corpse.

The 20th century only brought ever larger scales of destruction for the wolf. New industrial methods were devised for the eradication of the species. A 1905 law in Montana required veterinarians to infect any captured wolf with mange, to then release them into the wild to infect their pack. In 1907, the US Biological Survey released a more systematic report on strategies to hunt wolves. Readers were recommended  to pursue the wolf into the den, killing pups and adults there. Trapping, shooting from airplane, and broadcast poisoning w/ strychnine were also advised. One especially effected strategy described was to chain a pup to a tree. It’s yelps would draw in other wolves, who could then be shot.

By the 1960’s the wolf populations in the US were nearly extinct. If not for the influential writings of people like Aldo Leopold and Farley Mowat, the wolf might have been eliminated. The story of wolves protection and reintroduction can be found in other blog posts.

*These bounties payed out preferentially to white colonists. Black and Native American trappers were payed less from payouts.