Predator Motivation

Predator Motivation

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Idaho beef rancher Tom Blessinger lost his great Pyrenees named Chisholm on a trail while working on some water tanks with a range manager up near Sage Hen Reservoir. Chisholm followed the two on their ATVs by 100 feet or so and at the end of the trip came up missing. He was a victim of what Tom thinks were three or four wolves. Listening to Tom's story gives us some insights into the power and the motivation of these predators. "This trapper, when he examined my dog, between the two canine teeth, he measured and it was about 5 inches wide. So you can imagine what kind of muzzle this one wolf had on him. Did they attempt to eat the dog or was it just for the sake of killing? They just killed him. They did not eat him. I didn't hear a thing. And what amazes me, they had to be laying right there when I rode by on a four wheeler. They just ambushed him. You hear all the time that a wolf will just kill for the sake of killing. A lot of times, this time of year, those female dogs will try to train those pups how to kill. A lot of times they will kill animals for the fun of it and just leave them lay because they want to show those pups how to do it. I don't know, in this particular case, what this was, whether it was a dog invading their territory or what, I don't know David.
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