Submitted
Total confirmed livestock depredations by wolves during 2012 were 194 cattle, 470 sheep, six dogs, three horses and one llama. From 2007 through 2011, an average of 191 cattle depredations occurred each year, while an average of 339 sheep have been killed. These depredations were committed by 99 wolf packs. In livestock control actions, 231 wolves were killed, which is about 9 percent of the minimum number of wolves.
During 2012, Montana hunters and trappers removed 175 wolves, Idaho took 329 and Wyoming took 66 wolves. Idaho’s take amounted to about 30 percent of their wolf population. In total, 861 wolves were killed in human-caused mortality in the Northern Rockies, about 34 percent of the total minimum number of known wolves.
The minimum delisting goal has been to maintain 300 wolves, including 30 breeding pairs in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, for three consecutive years. This has been exceeded in the Northern Rockies since 2002.
During 2012, federal funding amounted to $3,345,618 for wolf monitoring, management, control and research. State and private compensation programs spent $564,558 to compensate livestock producers for depredations.
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This data comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s document “Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery 2012 Interagency Annual Report” and is the most recent summary available.