Wolves claim pet llama
By SHERRY DEVLIN of the Missoulian
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was in “lethal control mode” in the
Ninemile Valley on Wednesday night, after wolves apparently killed a
pasturing llama.
It was the fifth pet llama killed by wolves in the valley northwest of
Missoula this year – a statistic that wolf recovery coordinator Ed Bangs
said begs a response.
“The right solution here is to look at something longer term, where we can
have both domestic animals and wildlife,” Bangs said. “We can’t just keep
sticking vulnerable animals out there and having them attacked and then
killing the predators.
“We have to fix this thing for the long term.”
The latest llama killed was owned by Ninemiler Geri Ball, who lost another
of her show animals in April and had a third seriously injured.
Ball said she’s frustrated by the attacks, which she blames on the size of
the Ninemile wolf pack. “There’s 10 or 11 wolves up here, that’s the
problem,” she said. “Until they cut the pack down, everybody’s going to
have problems.”
Four llamas were in the pasture about two miles up the valley from Ball’s
home when the attack occurred about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. “The neighbors
called and said the llamas were screaming,” Ball said. “We went down at
daybreak, and Ullaula was dead.”
The llama was a 6-year-old female used for shows and as a pack animal. A
“guard llama” tried to protect the female, but was no match for the wolf,
Ball said. “He’s still down there in the field humming. He knows something
is wrong.”
A Wildlife Services agent spent much of the afternoon Wednesday trying to
determine – for sure – if wolves were to blame.
“I’m assuming it was wolves,” Bangs said, “although lions kill llamas left
and right.”
If wolves were responsible for the kill, Bangs said traps would be set in
the pasture and agents would be on orders to kill up to two uncollared
wolves.
“We are in lethal control mode for a couple of wolves,” he said.
“Hopefully, we’ll just pick them off and get rid of that behavior.”
Federal agents also killed wolves after the earlier llama depredations.
“All I can imagine is that llamas must be good eating,” Bangs said
Wednesday. “The wolves just keep coming back to them. We’ve had wolves in the
Ninemile since 1990, but this llama thing just started a couple of years
ago.”
If the traps catch pups born to the Ninemile pack this year, the young
animals will be fitted with radio collars and released, Bangs said. Any
wolves already wearing radio collars also will be released – as wildlife
officials can find them fairly easily, if need be.
“But the main thing we need to do is to meet with Geri and talk about
long-term solutions,” Bangs said. “We need to work with her to get better
fencing or something. We can’t just have vulnerable animals standing out
there, waiting to be killed.”
Even before this week’s incident, the Fish and Wildlife Service and
Defenders of Wildlife had asked a contractor to work with Ball to find a better
fencing plan for her animals. “People do this for bears all the time,”
Bangs said. “The sheep guys have better fences, too.”
“Predator control is part of our program, but the long-term solution is to
protect the livestock and pets,” he said. “There’s nothing more
aggravating than to lose an animal you like. The livestock loses. The
livestock owner loses. And the wildlife eventually loses. And in 10 years,
you’re exactly where you are today.”
Ball said she’s willing to work with the government, but doubts that
fences will stop wolves.
“These wolves came up from the creek bottom,” she said. “The llamas were
in a field with a woven wire fence. We talked to several wolf specialists
already, and they said an 8-foot-high fence would be a joke for a wolf.
How high can you build a fence? I just don’t think it will work.”