Parasite infestation in Wolves?

[Mikey]

Just received a copy of a article cut from the Missoulian, a letter to the editor specifically, that raises the concern about parasitic infestations in wolves in Montana and Idaho that can be passed to coyotes, dogs, cattle and humans.  Apparently 2/3s of the wolf carcasses examined in Idaho were confirmed to carry the parasites.  In humans it is known as the Hydadid Disease where infected people develop cysts of tiny tape worms that head to the liver, lungs and brain; they have to be removed surgically except from the brain where they are inoperable.  It also affects deer, Moose and Elk.

This information came from a December, 2009 article in "The Outdoorsman".  I guess that if the people responsible for introducing infected wolves from Canada and Alaska knew about this they sure haven't wanted anyone else to know about it. 

The disease is called Echinococcosis granulosus; pretty gnarly.  I wonder if Wolf season shouldn't be open longer??

[Cheesehead]

It should be 24/7 x 365.

Now more then ever.

Cheese

[Dee]

It seems to me as isolated as much of Montana is, wolves could also die of "lead worms", and not many folks would notice that infestation either.

[hillbill]

any idea how the parasites are passed on? maybe eating sum rare wolf steaks or by likking your fingers while skinning a wolf?sorry couldnt resist.

[Dee]

Well hillbill, he said it could be passed on to other K-9s including dogs, and also cattle, deer , moose and elk. The most common way of getting a tape worm is eating rare beef, so it really isn't a mystery on this particular parasite since the parasite is a tape worm.

[Frank V]

I am hearing it can be passed on even from field dressing game infected. One way it's passed  on is for an animal to have come in contact with infected Wolf feces  (wolves ARE feces here in Montana!) I am also hearing it's non curable in humans, this is really good news!
I'M BETTING WE WON'T HEAR MUCH OF THIS IN THE MEDIA! 
Frank

[Mikey]

Frank:  you're right, you won't be hearing ANY of this from the media and most certainly not from peta or the other wildlife organizations that pushed to get wolves reintroduced into the lower 48. 

I am certain that if the general public, esp those in those states where wolves have been reintroduced had any idea that these wildlife advocates pushed to get a wild animal reintroduced that carries fatal diseases to humans, they would scream bloody murder and those advocate groups would lose more money faster than the Brits went out of the Smith and Wesson business....................... and be out of business themselves.  jmtcw.

[Cottonwood]

If you do a search, you will find that deer, foxes, coyotes, black bears, prairie dogs and a host of other wildlife already carry parasites that can be transmitted just as easily.  I'm no wolf lover either, but lets present real scientific data before we scream the sky is falling.  The study on the wolves was centered around the canadian grey wolf which is slightly larger than our own wolf that has been in the US for quite some time. 

Wolf Behavior
http://alphawolfsabrina.webs.com/diseasesandparasites.htm

Prairie Dogs
http://webdvm.lifelearn.com/clinics/llclinic_232/index.php?view=pageView&pageid=1413

Foxes
http://www.thefoxwebsite.org/disease/index.html

Just do a search on other animals ie wildlife {name of animal} carrying parasites or diseases and you will be really surprized how your regular whitetail, elk, black bear, mountain lion, fox, prairie dog hunting trip can end if you do not take the proper precautions while handling and processing those animals that you have harvested.

Don't just blame the wolf here.  Here in Kalispell we have had a host of Wolf Meetings, Senitor Tutvett was present at one such meeting.  The archery pro shop owner thought that Bruce Tutvett was going to help them out with this cause, but I warned them that he would not, as he as well as others are looking into the scientific data available and have yet to be convinced that this cry about this parasite in the canadian grey wolf is going to be the bitter end to our wildlife here in Montana or even Idaho.

I saw the same Outdoor artical in the Missoulian.  And until All Wildlife are treated for infectious parasites, they will continue to be a problem.

Now, how many of you when your out hunting this next season when you harvest your game will sit there and lay against, handle without wearing very long rubber gloves.  How many of you will gut a deer or elk without wearing proper protection from fleas or ticks, just to get a good picture of the wildlife you harvested.

How many of you will become sick with some unknown parasite or disease that a hospital will not be able to treat because they won't know what you have been doing should you become so sick, your brought into the hospital unconcious and near death.

Its not just the wolf that carries a parasite or disease that can be passed on.  I laugh when I see these hunting shows where the guy actually is tasting scatt from a wild animal to see what the animal has been eating.  Yep, just saw this on Western Extreme Outdoors with Jim Burnworth (host) while hunting black bears.

Hunt Safe, Hunt Smart

[Dee]

Cottonwood, you have a point. Even the common house cat carries two diseases in their feces, that are hard to diagnose in humans and one is fatal if left too long undiagnosed. People around here that work in gardens, and flower beds are told to wear gloves because of so many cats roaming. You can catch these two diseases from cuts on your hands or even the fingernails. Of course I do my part on the cat problem.

[Cottonwood]

Of course I do my part on the cat problem.

So do I...... T H W A C K 

[Terbltim]

any idea how the parasites are passed on? maybe eating sum rare wolf steaks or by likking your fingers while skinning a wolf?sorry couldnt resist.

These tapeworms are definitely NOT isolated to this (Montana) area any longer.
Here is how they get spread around and how people can get infected. They get swallowed by mouth.
You can do it without knowing. Here are the scary details.
The feces (turds) of the wolves (the primary carrier) hold 100s or 1000s of eggs of  these tapeworms.
The eggs are microscopic and remain viable for months even though dried.
When dried they are easily released into the air as a cloud when anything at all jostles the infected turd.
They may be jostled by a dog taking a sniff or a man’s boot  or any animal’s foot or just a stiff breeze.
A cloud of eggs rises up and swirls around the entire body of the animal, unseen and unnoticed, (because it’s a microscopic cloud) and settle all over the surface of the animal., (head, face, shoulders, etc.)
Much of the eggs will also be spread  over an area of approximately ¼ acre within minutes.
If you simply walk around in an area where a wolf cut a turd in you will very likely have a lot of these eggs all over you when you leave. The family dog will too.
Anyone that has visited Yellow Stone Park [in recent years] might have already spread the eggs to their home. These then get spread all over the interior of your car. You drive home. The eggs get spread by this same action into your home. Everyone that gets into the car picks up some of them and takes them along wherever they go, depositing them all along the way.
These eggs will be all over exposed skin and can be rubbed into the nose, eyes and mouth without any notice because the are microscopic. (The person has no idea that they are covered with them.)
It doesn’t take much imagination to see how the eggs can eventually get into the mouth and swallowed.
Months or years later the symptoms begin. By then the whole family is infected as are the neighbors and anyone that has been in your home or just in close proximity to where you or any member of you extended family-group has been.
In 20 years or so the entire continent could conceivably be suffering from infestation of this tapeworm.
It might be too late even now.
The only good first step is to begin shooting wolves at every opportunity and leave them where they fall.
The Feds brought those non-native wolves here knowing they might be infected with this type of tapeworm and made no effort to “clean” them out before release.
There is a lot to know about the whole concept that started with the warm and fuzzy catch-phrase, “save the wolves,” the brain-child of the professional sympathy industry. It was all fiction.
The truth is they never needed saving and they never needed “help” from man.
There is a lot of scientific and medical documentation about what is true about the wolves and their parasites and diseases.
The Gov’t was made aware of all of it and did this evil thing (importing a non-native species of wolf with their parasites and diseases intact,) anyway.
There is a huge amount of documentation on this and related subjects.
None of it supports the “save the wolves” thinking.
There are no facts to support that nonsense and there never were.
Here are some links to help begin understanding this situation.

http://saveelk.com/

http://blog.schillingshow.com/2010/06/07/guest-editorial-is-big-brother-a-bio-terrorist/


file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/My%20Documents/Save%20The%20Wolf!/wolf_attacks_on_humans.html

Most people will not like what they learn here. The Federal Government knew this was wrong and did it anyway. The professional sympathy industry gets lots of support, (votes, money and free labor) through fictitious campaigns like this.
There is lots of info on this.
You might as well get started at learning why you or your children might be dying  from tapeworms in the brain 10 to 20 years from now.

[lucky guy]

This story is just coming back around again, I've never seen any reliable documentation that it's any more than alot of other animal parasite infestations, including your family pets.  I think the lead worm is the only one that's gonna get it done, conspiracy theories won't. 

[trotterlg]

If the parasite kills the host you won't have to worry about wolves for long.  Larry

[Cottonwood]

Wel this year Montana FWP doubled the quota for wolf hunts, and Idaho is going to now be using electronic calls like thye do for coyotes.

Maybe we will finally see a happier ending here..... sometime. 

[Cottonwood]

And now we read that some very stupid people want a full re-interduction of wolves clean across the whole USA.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/98879754.html

[prospector86]

So who here is planning on getting their wolf tag next month?

[Cottonwood]

I'm getting one this year, and if I see one, its getting the shaft.

[prospector86]

Well, who else is mad they can't get their tag's? Makes me mad the goverment wont say the wolf is a problem yet.

[Cottonwood]

Its Federal Judge Donald W. Molloy that keeps causing our frustration, he and he alone keeps protecting these wolves.