John S. Adams
Editor’s note: What follows is a graphic description that may be difficult for some readers.
HELENA – A Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks law enforcement official said Friday the agency is “looking into” a Missoula anti-wolf extremist’s Facebook claim that he purposefully ran down a pair of wolves on Interstate 90 just east of the Idaho-Montana border.
Montana FWP Region 2 Warden Capt. Joseph Jaquith said they were aware of Toby Bridges’ Facebook post in which he brags about killing two young wolves with his wife’s van.
“We’re trying to determine, first of all, what exactly we can do with something somebody says on Facebook with no other physical evidence,” Jaquith said. “Whether or not it’s true remains to be seen.”
Bridges, who runs an anti-wolf website and Facebook page called Lobo Watch, on Tuesday posted pictures on Facebook and described in graphic detail how he accelerated his vehicle in an apparent attempt to intentionally run down the wolves.
Bridges did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Bridges described a scene in which he claims a group of wolves were chasing a cow and calf elk across the highway about four miles east of Lookout Pass. Bridges said he “let off the brake and hit the accelerator.”
“Just past MM4 (mile maker 4), a cow elk and calf suddenly ran right out onto Interstate 90, and I let up on the gas and had just started to brake — in case more elk followed,” Bridges wrote. “What followed were two adult wolves. The cow jumped over the concrete barrier separating (sic) West and East traffic lanes, the calf stayed on ‘my’ side — and both were running up the highway, toward the pass. The wolves went after the calf … and I let off the brake and hit the accelerator. I was going to save that calf.”
Bridges said his vehicle was driving approximately 55 mph “when suddenly four young wolves shot right out in front of me.
Exposing the Big Game 
It’s about time that long overdue justice was visited upon this scum bag Toby Bridges and the many others of his diseased ilk. He is not worthy of this beautiful and amazing planet. May he soon be “run down” and meet his maker in hell, where he belongs.
Since there is not “human justice” when animals are concerned, I hope in Karma. May this criminal suffer every day of his disgraceful life
This is why we don’t compromise with the wolf haters! This is why wolves need protection!
Did this whack-job bother to notice if there were other drivers on the road his incredibly irresponsible and stupid driving actions could have killed or injured? This is the kind of disturbed person whose warped sense of misguided action and out of proportion hatred of certain animals makes him a danger to EVERYTHING and EVERYONE.
This is why I get outraged when I see so-called “animal people” continuing to “compromise” or otherwise try to “work with” these monsters. The problem is, the wildlife haters and killers know exactly what side they are on and they make no bones about it–and they are a growing force. On the other hand, those who purport to “care about wildlife” are a mixed bag: some want to appease hunters/ranchers, and are willing to accept “some loss of wildlife” under the myth of wildlife management—or who support continued financial payouts to ranchers, & the myth of “non-lethal” wolf/coyote control. Many “wildlife groups” have capitulated to these killers, and have even stooped so low as to have hunters on their staff, or have accepted ranchers/hunters on their boards. This is the worst of our Humanist Behavior. This is why we are losing the battle. And the wild animals (and their habitats) are real victims.
http://www.foranimals.org
Where is our resident Geoff? Because I am this close -> )( to losing my shit.
The guy clearly needs a visit from the Montana wing of ARM who could reason with him in a language he would understand. His name and address are matters of public record and we know the specific tool he allegedly uses to commit his brand of vehicular homicide. How hard is it to cut a brake line? If you’re one of those who’d rather wait for Cosmic Karma to instill some justice in the world, you’re in for a long wait!
I came across this article on September 20 and was so disturbed that I had to dig through my reader to make the following comment. The guy is a despicable jerk. No question about that. But I can see the beginning of what he was trying to say. He saw an elk calf unable to leap the cement wall and being chased by several hungry wolves.
Wolves kill to survive and wolves mostly kill young wildlife such as elk calves because they are younger and weaker than the adults. Those of us who love wolves are faced with this dilemma. How do we balance our love for wolves against what wolves do to survive? I tend to root for the victim. I am the one who pulls the moths from the spider webs and releases the cornered prey from the jaws of the predator. Given the same situation I am not sure what I would have done. Probably try to distract the wolves so that the elk calf could escape. He took it once step further. Regardless of what we think about him, we do have to remember he was rooting for the calf.
But that isn’t realistic. Besides totally negating what humans do and have done to animals over the millennia to survive (do we have special rights?), it doesn’t take into account that the predator needs to eat also, and pups will die without being fed. It doesn’t take into account the other time or times when the cow elk or bison stomped the wolf and broke his ribs or jaw to protect her calf, or when a bison died naturally and the wolf pack had natures gift of food.
There is no ‘victim’ in nature. This man was not rooting for the calf. In fact, I doubt the scenario even happened.
If I see an injured animal that can be saved, I’ll try – but I do not interfere with nature generally. The moth stays in the web, and the web of life goes on. Only humans project their own morality on nature.
And humans can’t even live up to their own morality. It’s hypocritical. I’d suggest if people want to save calf victims, to stop eating veal.
My take on this is that this creature is an attention-seeker, and probably was jealous that attention has been on the Wolf Patrol and not on him.
Some road kill is inevitable. Even grizzly bears have been struck and fatally injured by automobiles. It should go without saying — but still needs repeating, always be mindful of wildlife, particularly at sunrise and sunset, when animals tend to be most active, and drivers’ vision can be particularly compromised by light conditions.
However, deliberately trying to run down any animal is unseemly and immoral. That said, I would caution against lumping too many of anybody in with this particular person’s obviously extreme opinions about wolves.He’s welcome to those opinions, of course, but my response is that such ideas are myopic and juvenile. And if somebody is foolhardy enough to brag about alleged illegal activity on Facebook — well…
I’m a fifth-generating Rocky Mountain West native. I’ve lived, worked and hunted in all three of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem wolf reintroduction states since before the program even began. There’s been shrill, illogical and hysterical opinions on both sides of the matter since it started.
Personally, I’m fine with the wolves being here — and always have been. Yellowstone National Park now actually has a variety of wildlife in it — whereas before the wolves came back, and particularly before the ’88 fires — it was becoming an over-grown, over-grazed glorified elk ranch. Driving through the park in the so-called “good old days,” all you could see was an elk every 10 feet, and perhaps some bison. That wasn’t healthy for the land. Elk can bully out other species out and be terribly hard on the land if they’re not being pushed around by an apex predator.
I appreciate your response and enthusiasm but I think you are writing too much into this stupid guy. We have no knowledge what his real intension was. I do not think he is worth wasting our time making him an archetype of all the evil deeds that people have committed against animals.
I’m not doing anything of the kind – he’s made quite a name for himself on his own.
Fuck THAT coward!