March 7, 2014
A young wolf with an expensive “necklace” is
playing a major role in helping wildlife researchers map the recovery of
gray wolves in Washington. The number of confirmed wolf packs in the
state
increased by four to 13 in Eastern Washington in 2013. A yearling female
wolf captured along Ruby Creek
southwest of Ione on July 15, 2013, and fitted with a GPS transmitter
was one of 11 collared wolves state Fish and Wildlife Department
biologists monitored in 2013 to help determine the number of packs in
Washington.
The agency released those numbers in its annual wolf status
report on March 8, 2013, bringing the wolves a step closer to official
“recovery” and removal from state endangered species protections.
Outdoors editor Rich Landers was with biologists on the lucky day when
they captured the yearling female that led to the confirmation of the
Ruby Creek Pack. His photos detail the process of working up a wolf for
research, from beginning to end.
Rich Landers photo
After
wolf tracks and scats indicated a wolf or wolves were regularly using
an area of national forest southwest of Ione, Wash., Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists posted signs warning the
public that they were setting traps in the area near Ruby Creek in June
and July 2013.
Rich Landers photo
After
weeks of effort, wildlife biologists checking their sets find a
black-phase gray wolf in a leg-hold trap on national forest land
southwest of Ione, Wash., on July 15, 2013.
Rich Landers photo
Cattle
false-charge a black wolf in defense of their calves after it’s caught
in a leg-hold trap set by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
research biologists. The cattle were shooed away to protect the wolf
until it could be tranquilized and moved.
Rich Landers photo
Washington
Fish and Wildlife Department wildlife biologist Scott Becker prepares a
tranquilizing drug to be injected in a gray wolf captured in a trap so
it can be fitted with a GPS collar and released. The wolf was caught on
July 15, 2013, in a trap set by wildlife technician Gabe Spence.
Rich Landers photo
A
black-colored gray wolf in a leg-hold trap snaps violently at its rear
haunch as Washington Fish and Wildlife Department wildlife technician
Gabe Spence, left, uses a pole to inject a tranquilizer. Technician
Trent Roussin had distracted the wolf from the right. Once subdued, the
yearling female wolf was fitted with a GPS collar and released. The wolf
was caught on July 15, 2013 in a trap Spence had set in Pend
Oreille County.
Rich Landers photo
A
gray wolf is removed from a leg-hold trap after it was captured and
tranquilized in Pend Oreille County by Washington Fish and Wildlife
Department research biologists.
Rich Landers photo
Water
is poured on a female yearling wolf’s thin summer coat to cool its body
temperature to safe levels after being trapped and tranquilized by
Washington Fish and Wildlife Department wildlife biologists.
Rich Landers photo
The
yearling female wolf is determined to be about 15 months old judging
from the wear on its teeth. The wolf was trapped by Washington Fish and
Wildlife Department wildlife research biologists in Pend Oreille County.
Rich Landers photo
Washington
Fish and Wildlife Department wildlife seasonal wolf researcher Gabe
Spence of Twisp punches ear tags into a wolf caught on July 15, 2013,
in Pend Oreille County.
Rich Landers photo
Other
than slight swelling to its right-front paw, this gray wolf suffered no
obvious or lasting damage after being caught July 15, 2013, in a
leg-hold-trap set by Washington Fish and Wildlife Department technicians
so it could be fitted with a GPS collar.
Rich Landers photo
If
you find a canine track 4 inches or longer in the wilds of Eastern
Washington, it’s likely to be a wolf, says Scott Becker, Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf biologist. “If it’shorter than 4
inches, it’s something else,” he said.
Rich Landers photo
Washington
Fish and Wildlife Department Wildlife wolf biologist Scott Becker
records data on a yearling female gray wolf captured in a trap so it can
be fitted with a GPS collar and released. The wolf was caught on July
15, 2013 in a trap set by wildlife technician Gabe Spence, right.
Technician Trent Roussin, center, is preparing the collar while Spence
attaches ear tags.
Rich Landers photo
A GPS collar is fitted on a tranquilized wolf by Washington Fish and Wildlife Department Wildlife wolf biologist Scott Becker.
Rich Landers photo
Blood
is drawn from a tranquilized wolf as part of the work-up by Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife researchers after it was captured in
Pend Oreille County.
Rich Landers photo
A
yearling female wolf is weight at 68 pounds by Washington Fish and
Wildlife Department wildlife biologists after it was captured in a trap
so it could be fitted with a GPS collar and released.
Rich Landers photo
Although
a mask protected the eyes of a wolf as it was examined by Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists, a lubricant is applied
because the tranquilizing leaves the wolf’s eyes open but unable
to blink.
Rich Landers photo
A
yearling female gray wolf is hauled to a safe release site as it begins
waking from the effect of tranquilizers in the back of a Fish and
Wildlife Department pickup. It had been captured and fitted with ear
tags and a GPS collar on July 15, 2013, in Pend Oreille County.
Rich Landers photo
A
yearling female gray wolf is carried in a tarp to a safe release site
as it begins waking from the effect of tranquilizers. It had been
captured and fitted with ear tags and a GPS collar on July 15, 2013, in
Pend Oreille County.
Rich Landers photo
A
yearling female gray wolf is hauled to a safe release site as it begins
waking from the effect of tranquilizers. It was licking its lips and
nose indicating the drug was wearing off. It had been captured and
fitted with ear tags and a GPS collar on July 15, 2013, in Pend
Oreille County.
Rich Landers photo
A
yearling female gray wolf is set in the shade by Washington Fish and
Wildlife Department biologists so it can continue waking from the effect
of tranquilizers before taking off on its own again.
Rich Landers photo
A
yearling female gray wolf is set in the shade by Washington Fish and
Wildlife Department biologists so it can continue waking from the effect
of tranquilizers before taking off on its own again. It was holding
its head up and licking its lips and nose indicating that the drug was
wearing off.
Rich Landers photo
Just
hours after a gray wolf was captured, fitted with a GPS collar and
released by Washington Fish and Wildlife Department biologists, the
bumper sticker on a vehicle 40 minutes away in Colville indicated there
are some people who don’t appreciate the recovery of wolves in
the state.
Rich Landers photo
The
Ruby Creek Wolf with ear tag No. 47, was monitored regularly after
being captured on July 15, 2013, and fitted with a radio collar. That
monitoring eventually helped Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
biologists determine the wolf’s range and the habitat it prefers during
different times of the year. It also showed that the yearling female was
running with at least one other female wolf. The result was the
confirmation of a Ruby Creek Pack, one of four new wolf packs confirmed
in Washington in 2013.
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