Yesterday, according to a Magic Valley Times-News report,
Jeff Gould of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game told the Senate
Resources and Environment Committee that there are about 600 wolves
remaining in Idaho. This number is preliminary and the final number
won’t be published until sometime in March but, if it is accurate, it
means that the population has declined by about 30% since 2009 when the
population was estimated to be 856 wolves at the end of that year. By my
tally, which is based on numbers acquired from the Idaho Department of
Fish and Game through state records requests and numbers published on
their hunting quota tallies, there were 464 wolves killed in Idaho
during 2013, all but a few were human caused.
Of course the far right Senators don’t appear to believe that the
population is declining but they also seem concerned that the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game may not be able to back up what they are
saying.
Keep in mind that the wolf population numbers are estimates and no
longer based on only the number of wolves that they can confirm. There
is a complex equation used to determine the number that is based on
several factors. The actual number could be higher or lower than the
estimate even though they claim that the number is a minimum. The
number does indicate a trend in the population, however.
source
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