Wandering Idaho wolf caught by Paradise Valley trapper
By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer
LIVINGSTON — A wolf with a penchant for long walks was captured in
Paradise Valley last week, just a few days after a resident pack had
attacked sheep for the first time.
The wolf, a male at least 2 years old, wore a radio collar and ear tags
and had last been spotted west of Salmon, Idaho, on Oct. 22, according to
Carter Niemeyer, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in Idaho.
That same wolf was captured Dec. 19 by a leghold trap south of here, in
the Eight Mile area.
The trap is owned by a private trapper seeking coyotes, who notified
authorities when he found he had captured a wolf instead.
“I respect the man,” Niemeyer said of the trapper. “That kind of response
is admirable.”
The wolf had traveled about 180 air miles, which translates into a lot
more than that, considering the rough country between central Idaho and
Paradise Valley.
“There are a lot of wrinkles in between,” Niemeyer said.
The wolf was part of the Moyer Basin pack, which is suspected in some
livestock depredations. Niemeyer said he started wandering away from the
eight-member pack in August. His signal was picked up Oct. 22, but he
wasn’t located again until he turned up in Montana last week.
Wolves occasionally break off from their pack and disperse over large
distances, sometimes hundreds of miles.
“More and more, it’s going to be demonstrated that these wolves have the
ability to go great distances,” Niemeyer said.
The animal was released from the trap, unharmed except for a sore foot.
It was fitted with a new radio collar and is now considered part of the
Yellowstone population of wolves.
Last spring, a similar event happened when a Yellowstone wolf wandered to
an area north of Boise and was captured. That animal has been collared and
is now considered part of the Idaho population.
“We traded, I guess,” Niemeyer said in a telephone interview. “We’re even,
for the time being.”
The swap also illustrates that it’s possible for separate wolf populations
to connect, something that’s been a goal for wolf advocates.
“It demonstrates the connections of wolves between the recovery areas,” he
said.
The Idaho wolf is running with the remaining numbers of the Lone Bear
pack, which has a home territory in the Eight Mile and West Pine
drainages.
That pack attacked and killed 25 sheep Dec. 9 and 10.
That was the first time that pack had attacked livestock. It’s unknown
whether the attack is related to the arrival of the Idaho wolf.