Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Chesnimnus wolves blamed for another calf attack in N.E. Oregon

By Eric Mortenson
Capital Press

John and Karen Hollingsworth/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service A gray wolf is seen in this file photo.
The Chesnimnus group of wolves, which killed a calf in Northeast Oregon in July, is blamed for injuring another calf.

An attack on a calf in Wallowa County this month has been blamed on the Chesnimnus wolves, a relatively new group identified by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The calf’s injuries included numerous, scabbed-over tooth scrape marks on both back legs and open bite wounds that measured 4- to 5-inches vertically, 3- to 4-inches wide and an inch deep. The wounds were seven to 14 days old, and the 300-pound calf was expected to recover.

The attack was discovered Aug. 14 on private land in the Zumwalt Prairie area. A calf was killed by the Chesnimus wolves 13 miles away on July 16.

Oregon has eight confirmed packs in Northeast Oregon: Imnaha, Minam, Snake River, Umatilla, Mt. Emily, Walla Walla, Wenaha and an unnamed pack in the Catherine Creek/Keating unit. In addition, ODFW has identified the Sled Springs pair and a group forming in the Mt. Emily area with OR-26, a collared-male who is paired with a female. OR-7, the wolf that left the Imnaha Pack a couple years ago and traveled diagonally across Oregon into California before returning, is paired with a female in Southwest Oregon and produced pups this year.

Oregon has a minimum of 64 wolves, according to ODFW’s annual wolf report. The number represents only wolves verified by direct evidence, however, and researchers believe the state’s population is higher.

 source

No comments:

Post a Comment