Posted: Wednesday, September 11, 2013
An Aug. 26 incident in which a Holstein steer was maimed by gray
wolves on a town of Spider Lake farm appears to have been an isolated
attack in the area.
Because of its injuries, the 700-pound steer had to be put down by its owners, Dale, Ted and Vivian Pederson. The wolf attack was verified from claw marks on the steer’s side.
Because of its injuries, the 700-pound steer had to be put down by its owners, Dale, Ted and Vivian Pederson. The wolf attack was verified from claw marks on the steer’s side.
Dale Pederson said the
steer had been placed with “dry cows” in a pasture lot away from the
farm buildings. When it came back with the herd on Aug. 26, its rear end
had been mauled.
“This animal was perfectly healthy (when attacked),” Dale said. “I had to shoot it; it wasn’t even dead yet. “
The Pedersons believe
that wolves also killed a pregnant registered Holstein cow on their
property about a week before the steer was attacked. The cow had been
“dried up,” that is, not milked during its gestation period. She was put
into the dry cow lot and was about a month away from giving birth.
“I noticed a couple days
later she wasn’t coming up with the rest of the herd, was missing,” Dale
said.
“I went down there and found her dead; its whole rear end was eaten out. We had no way to prove that the wolves did that… (The injuries) weren’t caught soon enough; the ravens were on it, and the maggots were just ferocious, taking a toll on it. So we buried it, and after we buried it, then the steer got it.
“I went down there and found her dead; its whole rear end was eaten out. We had no way to prove that the wolves did that… (The injuries) weren’t caught soon enough; the ravens were on it, and the maggots were just ferocious, taking a toll on it. So we buried it, and after we buried it, then the steer got it.
“I just know it was a
wolf that took her (cow) down,” Dale added. “We’ve been seeing other
wolf tracks around, but they’re not easy to catch.”
After notifying the
Department of Natural Resources, the Pedersons received a permit to
shoot up to five wolves if caught attacking livestock on their land. Any
wolf shot would have to be turned over to the DNR.
Also, a U.S. Department
of Agriculture Wildlife Services trapper set traps on the farm property.
As of Friday, Sept. 6, he had trapped nine wolves and buried them as
required by law, the Pedersons said. On Friday, the trapper pulled his
traps.
The Pedersons have
applied for compensation for their lost livestock under the state’s
wildlife damage program. Dale Pederson said the lost steer would have
brought $1.12 per pound when marketed at 775 pounds. The dead registered
cow and its unborn calf were valued at $2,050.
The Pedersons have
operated a dairy farm for more than 60 years in the town of Spider Lake
not far from the Birkie Trail. They say they haven’t verified wolf
depredation on their livestock prior to this year.
“We never had this happen
in the past,” Dale said. “We’ve had some (cattle) come up missing, but
we thought they just went off and died someplace, but you don’t know,
because there’s no evidence.”
The USDA trapper looked
at the mauled steer and “ruled out a bear, because a bear would have
ripped the rib cage open and clawed it, and they ruled out a mountain
lion (cougar) because it would have went for the neck,” Dale said.
“The claw marks were a lot smaller than a bear’s,” Vivian said.
Ted said, “We see wolf
tracks regularly. Whenever we’ve seen wolves, it’s just been one or two,
not a pack. Whether there’s more, I don’t know.”
“We don’t want to lose any more animals,” Vivian Pederson said.
A check by the Record of
area farmers indicates they haven’t experienced wolf depredations
recently. Some farmers have taken measures to prevent wolves from
attacking their livestock, such as increased fencing, keeping animals
close to barns and keeping a “guard donkey” in the pasture with their
livestock.
Tweed Shuman, co-owner of
SMBA Stock Farm a short distance northwest of Hayward, said, “We have
seen them (wolves) encroaching on our fields, but have never confirmed a
kill by wolves” of their registered Red Angus cattle. “We have seen
them around our cattle, but we ran them off,” Shuman added.
Also, “We have had to
move our cattle, bring them closer to the buildings because we’re afraid
of depredation,” he added. “It’s always a concern with us,” said
Shuman, who is a board member of the Northern Wisconsin Beef Producers
Association.
Jim Henchel, who has
sheep and goats on his property on Twin Lake Road east of Round Lake,
said Sept. 5 that “wolves are not a problem right now” and he is “not
missing any” of his livestock. They are kept close to buildings and are
protected by a high fence, he said.
Wolves “move around,”
Henchel said. “The coyotes come here and so the wolves are gone. Coyotes
and wolves don’t mix.” But “they will be back.” There are “a lot of
deer out there,” he added.
Another landowner on Twin
Lake Road, Dennis Meyer, said he’s seen wolves on his trail cameras
when he was bear baiting on property he owns with Claudia Burgan.
“Years ago we had a male
wolf that spooked our daughter’s horse when she was riding it. The horse
bucked her off and took off running back to the barn,” Meyer said. “But
(wolves) haven’t attacked any of our livestock.
“There’s plenty of
coyotes out there, that’s for sure,” Meyer added. He has drawn a permit
for the state wolf season, which begins Oct. 15.
Ed Metcalf, who has
cattle, a couple of sheep and horses on his property on Moose Lake Road
east of Highway A, said he hasn’t had wolf problems for several years.
Wolves have moved out of the area and have a different den site, he
said.
Metcalf said he installed
a four-foot-high woven wire fence around his property 10 to 12 years
ago to keep wolves out and hasn’t had problems with wolves since then.
At North Star Homestead
Farm on Fullington Road, off the Moose Lake Road, livestock manager Kara
Berlage said they have never had depredation from wolves since they
moved onto the farm in the year 2000.
“But we do a lot to
prevent that,” she said. The farm has mostly sheep, and also hogs and
poultry. The area has a “lot of wolves” passing through and tracks have
been seen as close as their barnyard.
Seven years ago, the
Berlages purchased a full-sized guard donkey named “Belle” from a local
woman and put the donkey with their flock of sheep in the fields.
Belle, who now is 13
years old, “is in great condition and has made a big difference,” Kara
said. Deer hunters in the area have seen wolf tracks come up to the edge
of the North Star property, then split up and go around it (to avoid
the donkey), she indicated.
Donkeys “instinctively hate canines,” but “seem to understand the difference between a farm dog and a predator,” Kara added.
The sheep are brought from their pasture into barns each night for protection, Kara said.
An isolated case
A forest wildlife
specialist and former wolf biologist for the Department of Natural
Resources, Adrian Wydeven, told the Record this week that he no longer
heads up this program, “but from my casual view, it looks like the
Pederson farm is the main farm in this area with wolf depredations this
summer.”
DNR records indicate that
there are several depredation reports from Sawyer County so far this
year: a steer attacked by a coyote in January; 30 beef calves threatened
by wolves in April; a “verified health and safety concern and threat to
livestock” in April; and an unconfirmed complaint regarding a beef calf
in May.
Wydeven said that
typically, abatement includes cleaning up of carcasses, more carefully
monitoring livestock and opening land for wolf hunting and-or trapping.
The Pedersons said they
are required to allow wolf hunters and trappers on their land when the
state season starts on Oct. 15. Hunters and trappers who draw a permit
can kill a wolf until the state quota for a particular geographic zone
is reached.
A brochure titled “Wolves
in Farm Country” is published by the Wisconsin DNR, USDA Wildlife
Services and the Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association. It indicates that
wolf depredations are “relatively frequent, but have increased as the
wolf population has grown.” Depredations can “cause significant economic
loss, as well as handling problems, stress-related injury and disease
and increased time spent monitoring cattle.”
Predators also include
black bears, coyotes and free-ranging dogs, the pamphlet adds. “It is
very important to have depredations investigated by a qualified
specialist.”
The Wisconsin annual wolf
damage to livestock payment summary shows that $139,174 has been paid
to owners so far in 2013, and $213,794 was paid in 2012.
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