Video: Wolf Hunter Counting His Blessings After This Dramatic Encounter
OutdoorHub Reporters 05.11.17
In Texas, there’s helicopter hunting for feral pigs. In the cold, vast North, there’s snowmobile hunting for wolves. Yeah, just wait until you see this dramatic encounter . . .
For some background on this video, it was reportedly taken in Kazakhstan, where wolf hunting is still very popular—and arguably less controversial than it is in North America. Traditionally, hunters employ specially-trained golden eagles to hunt wolves, but the art of training those majestic birds is dying out. Many modern Kazakh hunters now use snowmobiles to pursue wolves, which is still a grueling—and as you can see below—dangerous method of wolf hunting.
In this video, hunters demonstrate their steady shots shooting wolves while zooming through the snow. It’s definitely a contrarian method of hunting, but with so much ground to cover and snow up to your armpits, it’s tough to imagine making this trek on foot.
Now, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this video. Right around the 1:30 mark, things take a scary turn. You’ll have to watch and see for yourself, but let’s just say look out for the teeth:
How’s that for a little adrenaline rush?
Just think, this hunter was only a few inches away from this video having a very different outcome. Even after being shot, this wolf still had plenty of fight in it, and probably would have torn that guy’s face off, had it not swallowed the barrel of his gun . . .
Understandably, this video is very controversial, and many hunters pointed out the many mistakes that these two men made, such as not putting down the wolf as quickly as possible, or getting so close to the predator in the first place.
What do you think? Is this a case that puts a black eye on hunting? Do you consider it fair chase? Is it hunting, or simply shooting? Or is it another dangerous lesson on hunting large predators?
