By Ben Krumholz
TOWN OF BREED – Wildlife experts say wolves have killed or seriously injured six dogs in the state this month, including two deaths in Oconto County.
People in northern Oconto County might not see a lot of wolves, but they say they know there are plenty around.
“Well I hear them at night howling,” said Clarence Trepanier. “I haven’t seen any. Not this year yet. Last year I’ve seen a few running across the road.”
Trepanier lives in the Town of Breed. It’s where a wolf killed a two-year-old beagle while the dog was rabbit hunting Friday.
“You get concerned when animals are getting killed,” said Trepanier.
The most dogs killed or hurt by a wolf in one of the past four Januarys is three, which is half the amount the state this month.
“This spike in incidents doesn’t reflect any change necessarily in wolves numbers or wolf behavior,” said Jeff Pritzl, a DNR wildlife supervisor. “I think it’s more related to human activity.”
Pritzl’s reasoning is that the mild winter likely has more people out hunting coyotes, bobcats, and rabbits.
“That style of hunting, the dogs tend to range a pretty good distance away from the hunter, so there is a point of loss of contact and you’re out in pretty remote areas, so it just increases the chance the dogs and wolves cross paths,” said Pritzl.
Pritzl says the peak time for wolf related incidents is late summer and early fall. However, he says most of the activity is usually in the northwest part of the state.
“In Northeast Wisconsin you’ll count on one hand every year the number of contacts or conflicts we have,” said Pritzl.
“They don’t bother my dogs any or any other animals around the yard,” said Trepanier.
But just in case, Trepanier says he’ll keep his four-legged friends close to home
There has been a wolf harvest the past three years. However, late last year, the wolf was re-listed as an endangered species.
If you’re concerned about your pets and wolves, the DNR does track where wolves have killed dogs on its web site.