I too love animals, I no longer hunt because I just like watching them, but now when I walk my dogs in the grape vineyards, I also carry my glock. A lady 5 miles aways lost her lab when one rip into it while waling in the woods. They are everywhere here. I hear them every night howling. I hear the pups ... big buggers also .. one got hit by a car and was over 90 lbs. They called it a coyote but I think it was a wolf myself