Thursday, May 26, 2011

Second Imnaha Wolf Killed


by Susan Allen 

Program: Open Range 

Date: May 26, 11

Download Report: 052611 Another Wolf Kill.mp3

My son and husband were surprised to see two uncollared wolves while hunting in the Imnaha area this Saturday especially after learning that a second wolf had been killed by wildlife officials earlier that week.   Were these part of the same pack? I'm Susan Allen  stay tuned for Open Range. 

After the death of two more calves this month and following the their state wolf management plan The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has killed a second wolf as a result of a livestock attacks and has issued permits for eight ranchers to kill  any wolves caught in the act of maiming  livestock. Last week biologists killed another young wolf bringing the total to two euthanized from a pack in Eastern Oregon that officials  believe are responsible for at least 10 livestock deaths since 2010, (two this month alone. ) 

The decision to cull the Imnaha pack was implemented after attempts to keep wolves away from baby calves failed. Ranchers in the Joseph area have been working closely state  Fish and Wildlife officials  and have  implemented a variety of non-lethal scare tactics to protect their herds. They have installed electric fences, hired range riders and diligently removed  bone piles that attract wolves.  Yet the same ranch that reported the death of  cattle  in April  lost another calf earlier this month. 

Despite a lawsuit from four conservation groups Oregon  biologists went ahead with their plans to reduce the pack of fourteen wolves  hoping a smaller number would  mean less competition for food without harming a breeding pair. Our ultimate goal is wolf conservation, but we need to respond when chronic livestock losses occur," Craig Ely, the department's northeastern regional manager, said in a  written statement. "Wolves need to rely on their natural prey, not livestock." Watching the wolves move through the pines my son commented on what easy prey baby calves are when you compare  the mothering  instincts of a domestic cow with a wild elk, both abundant in the area they spotted and heard wolves. 

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