<table cellspacing='0' cellpadding='0' border='0' ><tr><td valign='top' style='font: inherit;'><P>Hi Neil,</P>
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<P>I've found the same hatred towards all large predators all over the West, but especially prevalent in the Rockies. A B&B owner near Salmon, ID, once told me that she was so afraid of the wolves in the area that she would not walk out her door at night. This woman had lived in Salmon her whole life! I told her that there had never been a documented case of a wolf attacking a human, and she looked at me like I had an IQ of 50.</P>
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<P>The ironic thing is that the Mexican wolves that are now trying to make a come-back in New Mexico are known to be even more shy and elusive than the "regular joe" timber wolf. It's easier to understand locals' trepidation about grizzly reintroduction; wolf hatred, while harder for some to understand, is really ingrained in the European settlers' psyche.</P>
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<P>I would be happy to try and identify the canid you saw......just email me the photo. There are some very distinctive differences between wolves and coyotes (namely, size), but of course, at a certain distance, it becomes hard to tell either way. Not to mention, Mexican wolves are a bit smaller in stature than timber wolves.</P>
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<P>I was lucky enough to have an amazing close encounter with six wolf puppies at Welcome Pass (just south of Scapegoat Mountain) in Montana last year on the CDT (and got a video of it). I was later able to positively confirm their being wolf puppies--and not coyote pups as most people assured me they must have been. </P>
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<P>Nocona</P>
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