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Wolf pack keeps killing stock
Associated Press
MISSOULA (AP) – The Ninemile wolf pack is going to be
history if the six remaining wolves don’t stop
attacking livestock, the federal government’s wolf
recovery coordinator said Tuesday night.
“If they keep doing this, we may have to kill them
all,” said Ed Bangs after learning that a number of
dead sheep were confirmed earlier in the day as wolf
kills on a ranch northwest of Missoula.
“This is getting old. We kind of want this to stop,”
he said.
Bangs said two agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service intended to stake out the carcasses overnight
and would shoot any wolves that came to feed. Already
this spring, wolves have killed four llamas in the
Ninemile; last winter, several sheep were attacked.
Each time, Bangs has ordered one or more wolves shot,
hoping the remaining animals would flee into the
mountains and away from homes and ranches.
“I don’t know what the deal is,” he said. “We keep
hoping that we kill the right wolf, but I’m not sure
there is a right one. They could all be involved.”
The pack’s alpha female should soon enter its den and
give birth, he said, although that animal also will be
shot and killed if it is found feeding on dead
livestock.
Bangs said spring typically brings the toughest
hunting conditions for wolves, as wild game gain
strength and become more difficult to catch.
“And, of course, that’s when we get all the newborn
livestock, so there’s that temptation out there,”
Bangs said. “If we can make it to June 1, we’ll be all
right. But things just aren’t going very well right
now.”
Rancher Jerry Gilbert agrees. He found one dead sheep
Tuesday morning and three others missing. His flock
was hit twice in January.
“As the blood is flowing right now, there’s nothing
that’s gonna keep them from coming back…and the
kills will just continue to go on,” he said.
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