By MIKE JOHNSTON, senior writer
Federal officials are investigating the death of a gray wolf from the Teanaway pack.
The carcass of an adult, female wolf in the Teanaway pack’s habitat area in Upper Kittitas County was recovered Oct. 28 by state and federal wildlife agency officials, according to Brent Lawrence with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Portland.
The wolf was fitted with a radio telemetry collar. Lawrence said the cause of the animal’s death is under investigation.
“That’s all the information I have right now,” Lawrence said this morning. “My understanding is that it is a standard investigation with the state (Department of Fish and Wildlife) helping out.”
He said he would release more information as it’s made available to him. He didn’t have the exact location the carcass was found.
Gray wolves in the western two-thirds of the state (with U.S. Highway 97 the boundary) are protected by the federal Endangered Species Act and a similar state law, Lawrence said.
The Teanaway River valley is in the part of the state where wolves continue to be under both state and federal protection. East of the highway wolves have been taken off the federal endangered list but continue to be protected by state law.
The federal agency is the lead investigator of wolf mortalities in the western two-thirds of the state.
Other deaths
Nate Pamplin, assistant director of the statewide wildlife program for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said two other wolf mortalities in the state are under investigation.
In Whitman County, officials are awaiting genetic test results to determine whether an animal shot there was a wolf or a hybrid, Pamplin said in an email.
Once the investigation is complete, the case will be sent to the Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office for a charging decision. It’s expected the investigation will be concluded in the next couple weeks.
Self-defense
An apparent wolf kill in the Smackout Pack area in northeastern Stevens County was reported Oct. 30. The report indicated a hunter shot a wolf in self-defense in the Smackout Pack area.
The reporting party was hunting with several others when he saw a wolf skirting along the brush headed the same direction he was going, according to Pamplin.
He yelled and shot into the air and the wolf left. He then saw three additional wolves about 25 yards ahead of him, and they ran in the same direction as the first wolf.
The reporting party then heard a noise in the brush, yelled to see if it was his hunting partner and got no response.
A black wolf then appeared within 15-20 yards of him and approached him. The reporting party shot at the wolf, believes he hit it, and the wolf ran off. State wildlife officers responded and investigated and found the reporting party to be within his lawful rights.
It’s unknown if the wolf was shot, and if it was, whether the animal is injured or dead.
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