Imnaha pack wolves probably killed a local mule, investigations by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office concluded.
According to an ODFW summary of the wildlife agency’s investigation, the mule’s carcass remains were found the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 13, on private rangeland east of Joseph in the general area of Deadhorse Ridge. ODFW and Wallowa County Sheriff Fred Steen both examined the scene Saturday morning.
ODFW investigators observed wolf tracks in the snow near the carcass. GPS tracing data from collared wolf OR-4, the Imnaha pack’s alpha male, indicated that OR-4 was about three miles northeast of the investigation site on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, and he was one mile west of the site on Jan. 13.
“The carcass was mostly consumed and there was clear evidence of feeding by coyotes, wolves, ravens, and eagles,” the summary states. “A blood stain in the grass near the carcass suggested that the mule was bleeding at or near the time of death.”
The summary also noted that two bite marks with 1.5-inch spacing on lower leg tissues of the carcass were accompanied by bruising on the underlying tissue, suggesting the bites occurred before death.
“These bites do not show the cause of death of the mule. However, they do suggest the possibility of predation and, combined with evidence of wolf presence and a history of recent depredations of livestock in the area, a determination of probable [wolf-kill] is warranted,” the summary concluded.
Sheriff Steen likewise concluded that the mule’s death was a “probabe wolf kill.”
“I believe that the injuries that it sustained while alive were consistent with wolf depredations, what we’ve seen before,” Steen said in an interview.
Most of the carcass had been consumed. “I believe there was 10 percent to 20 percent of it left,” Steen said. He said the remains included all four of the animal’s legs, three of which were detached and “strewn about.” The legs were in a mostly frozen condition. Investigators detached the fourth leg and carried away all four to allow them to thaw for later examination. Steen and ODFW both said an examination took place Monday, Jan. 16.
Steen said the mule’s owner was Shawn Steen (no relation to the sheriff), a local outfitter.