'Super Pack' of 400 Wolves Attack Russian Town

[Midwinter Mist]

'Super pack' of 400 wolves terrorise remote Russian town after killing 30 horses in just four days.

'Super pack' of 400 wolves kill 30 horses in just four days in remote Russian village | Mail Online

A 'super pack' of wolves has been terrifying a town after leaving more than 30 horses dead in just four days.

Four hundred bloodthirsty wolves have been spotted prowling around the edges of Verkhoyansk, in Russia, attacking livestock at will.

Twenty four teams of hunters have been put together to get rid of the wolves, with a bounty of £210 for every wolf skin brought to officials.

Stepan Rozhin, an administration official for the Verkhoyansk district in Russia, said: 'To protect the town we are creating 24 teams of armed hunters, who will patrol the neighbourhood on snowmobiles and set wolf traps.

'But we need more people. Once the daylight increases, the hunters will start shooting predators from helicopters.'

A pack of wolves this size is unheard of, with the animals usually preferring to hunt in smaller groups of just six or seven.

The massive group is believed to be made from hundreds of packs and has left animal experts baffled.

Dr Valerius Geist, a wildlife behaviour expert, said the harsh Siberian winter - where temperatures plummet to minus 49C - had killed off the animal's usual prey.

He said: 'It is unusual for wolves to gather in such numbers and hunt large animal like horses.

'However, the population of their usual prey, rabbits, has decreased this year due to lack of food, so wolves have had to change their habits.

'Wolves are very careful to choose the most nutritious food source easiest obtained without danger - which in this case happens to be horses.

'They will start tackling dangerous prey when they run out of non-dangerous prey.'

Villagers have already managed to snare a number of the animals but the pack is so sizeable that is likely to take some time to deal with.

Verkhoyansk, with a population of just 1,300, is one of the coldest and remotest places in the northern hemisphere and lies within an area known as Stalin's Death Ring, after the former dictator sent political exiles there due to the extreme conditions.

[elucidate]

Wow, that's really unusual. There's so much weird stuff happening lately, all round the globe?

It's sad they have to kill them off though, but in those numbers, they would be a real threat to livestock and even people.

[supertom]

Thats awesome and scary !!


.......still no match for a tiger

[Midwinter Mist]

Originally Posted by elucidate

Wow, that's really unusual. There's so much weird stuff happening lately, all round the globe?

It's sad they have to kill them off though, but in those numbers, they would be a real threat to livestock and even people.

It's definitely unfortunate and I don't really enjoy the photo with the dead wolf, but I couldn't imagine there being much of an alternative if the pack is really that big.

The number seems unreal and would surely be the largest pack in known history. I've noticed comments elsewhere suggesting the number is exaggerated, but like somebody else said amongst those comments, there must still be quite a sum if they need so many people and even the need to shoot from helicopters.

I just hope it doesn't do what news tends to do and inspire some Hollywood movie maker with no good ideas to make a movie about it.

The Wolves...are Coming!

[supertom]

could be 400 werewolves twilight is quite popular these days.

Can we have this moved to the Fun & Recreation section now.....

[supertom]

A)sun and daily mail arent reliable sources
B)The humble reporter didnt input his name on the article.
C)Authorities are not gonna pay £210 for wolfskin (x400 = 84000) They dont have that kind of money there.
D) Photos look totally unrelated

[Alstar]

Originally Posted by supertom

A)sun and daily mail arent reliable sources

This x 1000. The hyperbolic title and the fact that the source is the Daily Mail pretty much means the article is false by default until proven otherwise.

[Gabo]

Winter is coming.

[MariconesUnited]

I do hope you guys are right about this being fake. But it makes me wonder what people would do in such an eventuality. I would hope they would choose to release tons of rabbits into the wild instead of killing the wolves. Our natural ecosystem is strained enough as it is.