Wolf depredations resurface this spring
by Anna Means
It was a quiet winter, but at
least one wolf has surfaced this spring to furrow the brow of
an East Fork rancher. Another is suspected of attacking dogs
in the Sawtooth Valley.
Rick Williamson with Wildlife Services was called out the
first of May to investigate the death of a calf on the East Fork.
He confirmed it was a wolf kill and determined only one animal
was involved. A trap was set, but it disappeared.
Williamson told the Messenger heýs prety certain
a cow dragged the trap off into the tules.
During the first week of May, two domestic dogs were attacked
in their own yard, which is about a mile from the Galena pack
den.
Carter Neimeyer, area wolf reintroduction coordinator for
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), told the Messenger there were three incidents of dogs in the same yard getting chomped.
No one witnessed the first time, but the owner was present the
other two times. In fact, once the owner literally pulled the
dog out of the aggressor canineýs mouth. Once, Niemeyer
said, the wolf was almost up on the deck of the home.
He said both dogs got munched pretty badly. Fish and Game
Officer Gary Gadwa gave the resident some non-lethal tools to
scare the unwanted party off, and it worked at least once in
a non-attack situation.
Neimeyer said the dog owner wasnýt sure if the attackerýs
intent was to kill. He said if a wolf plans to kill a dog, it
is usually done quickly, but these incidents showed it might
have been a case of rough housing gone bad.
Neimeyer said they set a trap to catch and collar the critter,
but the trap has disappeared. He spent eight hours on foot looking
for it, but saw no sign.
Ed Bangs, regional wolf reintroduction coordinator for FWS,
told the Messenger traps are lost for several reasons.
Sometimes theyýre stolen or other times an animal is caught
and runs off and eventually the trap falls off its foot. That
results in a harmless piece of metal laying around that is also extremely hard to spot.
This is the second dog attack of the year. Williamson told
the Messenger that this winter an elk got caught in a
fence behind a home near the river. It died and the Buffalo Ridge
pack fed on it. A homeowner nearby let his dog out and wolves
attacked it. The pet returned home but had to be put down.
Because it is the practice of both FWS and Wildlife Services
not to reveal the names of individuals involved in wolf encounters,
the Messenger could not interview the dog owner.
Jim Holyan, wildlife biologist with the Nez Perce Tribe and
its wolf recovery project, told the Messenger they arenýt
sure which wolf ate the calf. He said it could be one of the
Castle Peak pack, since the East Fork is within their territory,
but they donýt have a good bead on their movements these
days, especially after the alpha male B-2 died this past winter.
Holyan said they were able to catch one of the five in the
pack this January. They put a collar on it, but they havenýt
caught any signals in the last two or three times theyýve
flown the area.
B-2 was the old dog of the reintroduced wolves. They figured
he lived to about 14 years, assuming their capture age was correct.
They found his body this spring and sent a tooth off for age
analysis.