Wyoming Wolf problems calm
by Cat Urbigkit
Wolves in Sublette County haven’t been confirmed as killing
livestock in the
county in the last week, according to Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish
and
Wildlife Service.
There was one more confirmed depredation recently near Cora, but
wildlife
officials couldn’t estimate exactly when the kill had occurred, he
said.
That brings the total to two calves killed by wolves in that area in the
last month.
There have been no further reported depredations on domestic sheep
in the
Wyoming Range since two wolves were killed there a week ago, Jimenez said.
Although one black wolf reportedly remains in the area, no problems have
been reported.
Jimenez said he received a report of a wolf with pups in the Daniel
Junction
area on Monday, but hadn’t yet investigated the report.
The female wolf with pups in the Upper Green River region hasn’t been
causing any problems either, Jimenez said. This Green River female has
been seen with other wolves again (her mate was killed earlier this summer
after killing livestock on several occasions), and Jimenez said these
animals are probably members of the Teton pack, some of which have been
roaming in the Upper Green and Union Pass areas. This female has five pups
that weigh about 40 pounds each, and is in the same general area as the
Clear Creek Complex wildfire.
Jimenez confirmed reports that every Wyoming wolf pack that does not
reside in a national park has been involved in livestock depredations,
with the exceptions of two packs; the Beartooth and Thermopolis packs.
“It hasn’t been chronic,” Jimenez said, noting that a variety of
actions
have been taken to address specific problems, including lethal
control to
remove problem wolves.
In other wolf news, other parts of the state are starting to
experience
depredations as well. After a range sheep outfit near Ten Sleep
reported a
wolf had killed about eight head of sheep on a grazing allotment
last week,
federal wildlife officials investigated and confirmed that a wolf
had caused
the sheep deaths. On Sunday, a federal official shot a wolf on a
dead sheep
in the same allotment. This gray male wolf is believed to have been
alone.