Two Avon wolf packs will be destroyed
By PEGGY O'NEILL, IR Outdoors Editor – 02/01/03
The tracks in the snow tell the story. Tana and John Bignell can fill in the details. The proof is lying dead in the pasture.
An 1,100-pound pregnant cow was attacked and killed by wolves on the Bignells' ranch near Avon Wednesday. Wolf tracks surround a patch of kicked-up dirt where the cow frantically struggled to survive.
When John saw her, she was lying in an area where his cows frequently go to calve. On closer inspection, he noticed scratch marks, puncture wounds and a calf's hoof sticking out of the cow's partially eaten rear end.
"She was still warm," John said. "So I reached in to see if the calf could be saved."
It was too late to save lives, but soon enough to preserve evidence. The Bignells placed coffee cans over the wolf tracks, covered the corpse with plastic and called a game warden.
"Every predator does its job in a distinct way," said Ed Bangs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gray wolf recovery coordinator. "The power of the wolf is in its bite. Its bite causes tremendous hemorrhaging. If you skin (a wolf-killed animal) you'll see tremendous bruising."
In the Bignells' case, the evidence was indisputable. The cow was killed by the Halfway pack.
The Bignells' cow was the second wolf-killed casualty this week. Earlier, a 1,400-pound bull was killed by the Castlerock pack on another ranch in the Avon area. According to Bangs, the rancher dragged the dead bull out to a field and ended up shooting a wolf that approached the carcass.
"When he realized it was a wolf, he turned himself in," Bangs said. "For that individual to (kill) it himself is a possible violation, but it's under investigation."
The investigation into the depredations, however, is over and the sentence is set. USFWS directed its Wildlife Services division to eliminate the Castlerock pack and the Halfway pack.
"It's pretty rare that adult cattle are killed," Bangs said. "The main reason that we're removing these packs is because it indicates to me that they are familiar with cattle. Killing adult cattle indicates they consider them another prey item. It indicates a serious behavioral instinct."
The Castlerock pack, formerly known as the Boulder pack, had six or seven members. Two have been shot, one by Wildlife Services and one by the rancher. Bangs said that of the remaining members, four will be shot and, if there is a fifth one, it will be radio collared and let loose. There are between three and five wolves in the Halfway pack, all of which will be shot.
"It's a pretty severe response," Bangs said. "But bottom line is we don't let these things go on a long time. Hopefully the next wolves will stay away from the cattle."
John Bignell said he thinks removing the wolves is a step in the right direction. Calving season begins soon and he will be able to breathe a little easier.
"It will take some pressure off for awhile," John said. "But we know there are other wolves in the area."
After the Castlerock and Halfway packs are destroyed, there will be one remaining pack in the area — the Great Divide pack. Last year, the alpha female of the Great Divide Pack was killed by a car along Highway 12 on the east side of MacDonald Pass. USFWS estimates that there are six members in the pack.