Wisconsin gray wolf count holds steady
The Capital Times
Wisconsin’s gray wolf population over the winter of 2007-2008 held its own. State Department of Natural Resources biologists estimate that there are between 537 and 564 wolves in Wisconsin, about the same number as a year ago.
The annual winter wolf count relies on aerial tracking of radio-collared wolves and snow track surveys by DNR and volunteer trackers. Also included are wolf sightings by members of the public. The agency has conducted these counts since the winter of 1979-1980 when there were 25 wolves in the state.
Adrian Wydeven, a DNR conservation biologist and wolf specialist, said the once-rapid growth in wolf numbers appears to be slowing or leveling off as the wolf population approaches the maximum size that the heavily forested parts of the state can comfortably support.
The recent count was down from 540 to 577 wolves in 2007, and Wydeven said the slight decline is likely due to low pup production in packs across northern Wisconsin last summer, and to a new form of mange detected in a Wisconsin wolf last fall.
Mange is a skin disease caused by a burrowing mite. It can lead to death by exposure during the depths of winter, and several radio-collared wolves died from severe mange over winter, suggesting the disease may have become more widespread in the wolf population.
The DNR also reported that wolves attacked livestock on 30 farms in 2007, a new record, up from 25 farms in 2006.
Following a long process in which state officials had few options for taking action against problem wolves, state and federal officials were able to more aggressively respond this past year. In March 2007, wolves in Wisconsin and other parts of the western Great Lakes were removed from the list of federally endangered and threatened species, so state and tribal wildlife managers could trap and euthanize wolves that prey on livestock.
Wildlife Services staff from the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted trapping on most Wisconsin farms hit by wolf depredation in 2007, capturing and killing 37 wolves and one wolf dog hybrid.
The DNR issued shooting permits to 25 landowners with recent wolf problems in 2007, but no wolves were shot by those holding the permits.
Three landowners did shoot wolves in the act of attacking pets or livestock on their property without permits after wolves were removed from federal protection. Landowners or renters of land are allowed to shoot wolves in the act of attacking pets or livestock. They are required to contact their local conservation warden within 24 hours.
Wydeven said farmers in areas of depredation were pleased to see government trappers on the job and were also pleased with the issuance of landowner shooting permits.
“Tolerance of wolves is improving in these areas now that more management tools are available,” Wydeven said.
Wydeven said the wolf remains both a popular symbol of the wilderness in Wisconsin and an important component of the ecosystem. As large predators, wolves help reduce the impact of intense browsing and grazing, allowing more species of plant to take hold and to form a more diverse forest habitat.
A total of 143 wolf packs were detected in Wisconsin consisting of at least two adult wolves each. Biologists found 21 packs distributed across central Wisconsin and 122 packs in northern Wisconsin. The largest packs — in Ashland and Price counties — had eight or nine animals each, and at least 33 packs had 5 or more wolves in them.