Double Naught Spy
New member
One of my friends up in Idaho is a life long resident south of Lake Coeur d'Alene near St. Marie's and grew up on a ranch that he later took over from his father. He recalls very distinctly the native Idaho wolf that didn't bother him or his livestock. They mainly ate field mice according to this man who has spent his entire life living and working in the Idaho woods.
You have mentioned this in a couple of threads now. This may be what your friend remembers, but it isn't an accurate description for Rocky Mountain wolves. They were pack hunters and their primary prey were elk and bison.
http://www.yellowstoneinsider.com/issues/wolves/wolves-in-yellowstone-a-short-history/all-pages.php
When those animals were depleted or encroached upon sufficiently through Manifest Destiny, the Rocky Mountain wolves did turn to hunting livestock. That is a big part of the reason attempts were made to completely eradicate them.
http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/NorthernRockyMountainWolfRecoveryPlan.pdf
If they were living in such peaceful harmony as your friend remembers, then they would not have been hunted to near extinction.
It is a very romantic notion that the indigenous wolves of Idaho were living in harmony with people, but that isn't reality. They didn't just eat mostly mice (ala Cry Wolf).
Locals in the 1800s and early 1900s hated the Rocky Mountain wolf as much as locals today hate the MacKenzie Valley wolf.