Fostered Mexican wolf pups survive in wild

By Lauren Villagran / Journal Staff Writer

Published: Sunday, October 30th, 2016

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that several Mexican gray wolf pups born in captivity and fostered into wild wolf packs have survived – a first for the species recovery program.
Earlier this year, the Service transferred six pups born at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois and the Endangered Wolf Center in Missouri into the care of wild wolf packs – four in Arizona and two New Mexico.
Researchers have confirmed that at least two of the six pups survived in Arizona and they are working to confirm whether the others made it, as well, the Service said in a statement last week.
Compared with the release of adult wolves into the wild, the technique called “cross-fostering” has had greater acceptance in some localities because the young pups have had minimal contact with humans and are raised by wolves in the wild.
Last year, New Mexico Game and Fish prohibited wolf releases on the grounds that the Service has not completed a formal plan for wolf recovery. The Service placed two wolf pups in New Mexico this year anyway, citing its federal mandate to recover the species.

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Will a ‘frozen zoo’ save the Mexican wolf?

By Lauren Villagran / Journal Staff Writer

Sunday, October 30th, 2016

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service visited the Sevilleta National Wildlife refuge for the "vetting" of a litter of three-month old wolf pups. Pictured is a pup being released back into the pen after getting a check up in August 2007. (Roberto E. Rosales/Journal)

Endangered Mexican wolves roam the wilds of New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico. They also live in captivity. But their future may lie in a “frozen zoo.”

That’s the term of endearment scientists use for the bank of frozen wolf sperm and ovaries housed at the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri and Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City – two cryogenic vaults where some of the most precious genes of the species are being held for future reproductive use.

Even as New Mexico continues to fight with the federal government over the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s troubled program to reintroduce Mexican wolves to the wild, the scientists charged with breeding the species back into greater numbers are pushing on with the complex work of preserving the genetic diversity of a captive population that began with just seven wolves.

Dr. Cheryl Asa with a Mexican gray wolf semen straw in the Frozen Gene Bank at the St. Louis Zoo. (Courtesy of St. Louis Zoo)

“Right now, our mandate is to preserve genes,” said Cheryl Asa, a reproductive physiologist who led the research program at the St. Louis Zoo for 30 years and now serves as a consultant. “This is looking into the future so that, as animals die who are genetically important to the species, their genes live on.”

The Mexican gray wolf, an apex predator native to the Southwest and Mexico, was listed as endangered in 1976 and the service has been working to recover the species ever since – often in the face of opposition from ranchers who live in and around the remote Gila region, where the wolves now roam, and are concerned about them preying on cattle. They also prey on mule deer and elk.

“These ecosystems evolved with predator and prey,” said Garrett VeneKlasen, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, which represents sportsmen. “It’s a system of checks and balances. If we want to get our wildlife as healthy as it can be, we need to have all these species in adequate numbers on landscapes that can handle it.”

Since 2007, the quest to preserve Mexican gray wolf genes has included “vitrifying” the ovarian tissue of female wolves that are past reproductive age in hopes of one day being able to impregnate younger females through in vitro fertilization – although the technology does not yet exist to perform this technique in dogs or wolves. But researchers are getting close, Asa said.

“The ‘frozen zoo’ is what some of us call it,” said Maggie Dwire, assistant Mexican wolf recovery coordinator with the service. “We aren’t going to find new founders. We need to be very careful about retaining the genetic diversity we do have.”

‘Kept forever’

Only female wolves past their natural breeding age of 12 years may be selected for spaying, Asa said. A scientist at the St. Louis Zoo with the title of curator of invertebrates, Edward Spevak, manages a computer program that determines which of the elder females is most genetically precious to the species’ survival.

Just before breeding season, during the last two weeks of January, when the wolves’ eggs are close to ovulation, they are spayed like a domestic dog would be spayed – an operation that might happen at one of the 51 institutions that hold captive wolves.

The wolf ovaries are wrapped in gauze, kept warm in a saline solution, packed in a container and immediately shipped in the cargo hold of the next passenger plane headed to St. Louis, Asa said.
In the St. Louis Zoo lab, scientists use a needle to draw out egg cells from each follicle; the remaining tissue is vitrified and banked, “kept in liquid nitrogen forever, or until they might be used,” she said.

No vacancy

With 251 wolves in captivity and space capped at 300 wolves, holding pens in the U.S. and Mexico are near capacity. That curbs their ability to breed as many wolves as they might otherwise, Dwire said, making the “frozen zoo” all the more important.

An adult Mexican gray wolf runs in a pen in August 2007; here, it can be observed more easily by biologists. (Roberto E. Rosales/Journal)

But wolf advocate Michael Robinson says that too few genetically valuable wolves are being released from captivity into the wild. Ten wolves, including six pups fostered into existing wolf dens earlier this year, have been released from captivity since 2009, according to Fish & Wildlife Service statistics.

The service placed two of the pups in dens in New Mexico – flouting a 2015 ban on wolf releases by the state Game and Fish Department.

“If these wolves had been released a decade ago, instead of stuck in pens due to politics, their great-grandpups would roam the Southwest today, embodying the genetic diversity that instead is being stored in freezers,” Robinson said in an email.

The most recent master plan for the captive population pins genetic diversity at 83 percent – as good as it’s probably going to get in the Mexican wolf population, according to its authors, survival plan coordinator Peter Siminiski and Spevak.

“When gene diversity falls below 90 percent of that in the founding population,” the report says, “reproduction may be increasingly compromised by … lower birth weights, smaller litter sizes and greater neonatal mortality” – all challenges for the Mexican wolf population, both in captivity and in the wild, where genetic diversity is even less.

In the wild, Asa said, “the animals are so dispersed that there is not enough mixing and matching. Wolves don’t know that we need them to balance the gene diversity.”

So wolf genes that would otherwise be lost are frozen, waiting for science to catch up.

“Assisted reproductive technologies are improving all the time,” Siminski said in an interview. “Our thinking back in the 2000s was, ‘we’re going to start banking as soon as we can.’ The time will come that these technologies will be available.”

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Local workshops focus on wolves, livestock and people

Posted Oct 28, 2016

 A series of workshops in California and Oregon targeting wolf/livestock relationships are planned for California and Oregon in November.

The aim, according to a recent press release, is to reduce wolf/livestock conflicts in ways that benefit livestock producers, utilizing knowledge from people with years of experience raising livestock in the presence of wolves.

The workshops are aimed at assisting ranchers in their understanding of gray wolves and their behaviors, recognizing areas that pose risks to livestock, management options for reducing conflict and appropriate scale response to issues.

Local workshops will be in Fort Jones on Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Fort Jones Library, in Yreka on Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express and in McCloud on Nov. 16 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the McCloud River Mercantile Hotel.

For more information, email contact@workingcircle.org.


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Consider these points about what wolves do

Pat Bushey

14 hrs ago

Consider these points about what wolves do Regarding Lee Juillerat’s wolf depredation article: I lived in the Klamath Basin until 2015, still have property there, and know local ranchers, many who feel wolves cause unreasonable concerns and costs for those raising livestock. The losses appear to be entirely on the ranching side even though urbanites continue to eat beef. Also, most wolf supporters never see a wild wolf and don’t live in wolf-inhabited areas. However, there is another story here.

First a few facts:

1. At last count, Oregon has over 1 million cattle and about 55,000 die of weather, disease, and domestic dogs before slaughter. During 2016, cattle loss by wolves is less than three hundredths of one percent (.03 percent) compared to loss from other factors. Compensation for cattle is the full market value determined by local ranchers.

2. Ranchers are compensated for missing livestock above historic norms, a number also established by ranchers.

3. Ranchers using public rangeland pay a fraction of the private land cost (1/10th or less). The majority of Oregonians support wolves on public lands and expect ranchers to respect the right for wolves to exist there.

4. Wolves kill by biting their prey and will leave bite marks, just as shooting leaves bullet marks. They kill for food, not out of cruelty. Ranched cattle are not in a sanctuary and are slaughtered for human food.

But still, why should wolves exist if they complicate ranching? Many studies demonstrate that wolves fill an essential niche in the natural system (‘trophic cascades’) that help fish, animals, plants and water quality. Wolf populations are important to most people, including scientists and many Klamath Basin residents who live there for the wildlife. To discuss and act on these contentious issues rationally, we should resist loaded language and knee-jerk reactions; instead, we need calm, considered words and action in accord with current regulations.

Ali Litts 
Eugene


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Washington wolf killed in Montana had wandered 700 miles

• Tom Kuglin For The Gazette
• Oct 24, 2016

HELENA — A wandering wolf traveled nearly 700 miles through three states and one Canadian province before being shot and killed near Judith Gap last month for preying on sheep. 

Washington Fish and Wildlife biologists collared the 2-year-old male wolf in February north of Spokane. Last June they tracked the animal as it left the Huckleberry Pack's territory, turning east into Idaho and north into Canada.

“Dispersal is a necessary and a very risky component of wolf population dynamics,” said Ty Smucker, wolf specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “As young wolves mature they typically disperse from their natal pack in search of potential mates and vacant territories in which to start their own packs.”

On the Fourth of July the wolf re-entered the United States near Eureka and headed southeast. In late July he emerged on the Rocky Mountain Front, staying in the area until September. Then he headed east, traveling west of Great Falls and north of the Little Belt Mountains.

“I was communicating with the biologist in Washington and we were keeping our fingers crossed that he’d keep out of trouble," Smucker said.

By Sept. 22 the wolf moved west of Judith Gap, when Wildlife Services received reports of predation on sheep. Federal officials confirmed the predation was by a wolf, and they shot the animal on Sept. 29 as it left a band of sheep it was reportedly preying on, Smucker said.

“He moved into an area where there were a lot of sheep, so unfortunately sooner or later he was probably going to kill one,” he added. “It was pretty obvious he was attacking sheep at night, and it doesn’t get a whole lot clearer than that when they saw him leaving the area.”

The wolf killed at least four sheep, and an additional 13 were bitten. Officials have not determined what ate two other sheep, he said. 

Nonlethal methods were not tried, as predation began soon after the wolf’s arrival and no known wolf packs occupy the area.

Smucker explained that while wolves are managed by the state, federal officials have discretion under a memorandum of understanding to respond lethally to livestock losses. Part of that discretion comes with the remoteness of many predation incidents and related delays in response.

Marc Cooke, president of the Bitterroot Valley-based advocacy group Wolves of the Rockies, says he has concerns with the killing, particularly because the wolf was collared. He pointed out that Gov. Steve Bullock asked FWP to use education to avert killing collared wolves near national parks.

“If this guy from Wildlife Services sees a collar on a wolf, and even our own governor of Montana has encouraged (FWP) that if a wolf has a collar don’t kill it, then the directive should be nonlethal, not killing it,” he said.

Smucker said it was not clear whether the federal agent knew the wolf was collared.

Cooke also criticized the killing because wolf dispersal is important for genetic exchange.

“It’s a sad story that this wolf makes it through the killing fields of Idaho and then gets whacked in Montana,” he said. “This is a known wolf behavior, and how are we ever going to get a corridor down into Colorado up through the Yaak to improve genetic diversity if they’re so quick on the trigger?”

Jim Brown with the Montana Wool Growers Association noted Montana law dictates that lethal control is appropriate when predation occurs.

“This is an example where authorities came together and acted appropriately where a wolf has depredated on livestock,” he said. “Obviously the Montana Wool Growers supports that part of state law as a protection of private property. Lethal control is generally the last option taken when you have a species such as the wolf.”

Predator management works better with the support or tolerance of the agriculture industry, Brown contended, and allowing lethal measures when necessary builds that tolerance.

Regardless of debate over wildlife management, the wolf’s travels are “amazing” and shows the populations dispersing, he said.

As wolves increase in number and range across the Northern Rockies, Washington and Oregon, their propensity for long travels have generated headlines and fascinated wildlife enthusiasts.

In 2015 a wolf left its pack’s territory west of Missoula and ended up in British Columbia 600 miles away, according to FWP.

A wolf named OR7 was collared in Oregon in 2011 before a 1,000-mile journey into California and back to Oregon. The wolf continued to move back and forth between the states before establishing a pack in 2013, according to California Fish and Wildlife.

Montana’s wolf population has remained stable the past eight years with a minimum of more than 500.

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Spring Gulch cattle hit again; wolves killed

Posted: Saturday, October 22, 2016 

By Mike Koshmrl Jackson Hole Daily 

The wolf pack that roams nearest to the town of Jackson appears to have developed a chronic predilection for beef.
For at least the third time this year, members of the Pinnacle Peak Pack have wandered west of the highway dividing the National Elk Refuge and Grand Teton National Park and found their way to Spring Gulch pastureland.

The most recent foray, now a week dated, ended in even more dead cattle, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say.
“Unfortunately, last week we had at least three more wolves right there in the same area,” said Tyler Abbott, the agency’s field supervisor for Wyoming. “They took one calf and ran livestock through the fence one night, and another night they took a calf and bit up another one.
“We had to send somebody back up there,” Abbott said.
Somebody, in this instance, is an agent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program — the branch of the federal government that specializes in lethal control of wildlife.
Wildlife Services has already been to Spring Gulch twice this year, and through Wednesday had killed 11 of the estimated 19 wolves in the Pinnacle Peak Pack in an attempt to stop the conflict. The pack has denned on the refuge for the past seven years, and had managed to stay away from domestic animals as a food source until this spring.
“We were pretty confident that we removed the ones that we were causing all the depredations and chasing all the livestock around,” Abbott said.
Three wolves returned, however, Abbott said, that are believed to be young of the year. Through Wednesday Wildlife Services had been unsuccessful in attempts to kill the animals, he said.
Abbott has not yet authorized the removal of the entire Pinnacle Peak Pack and was hopeful the “step wise” approach of killing several wolves at a time so the remaining animals learn to associate livestock with danger could still work. The three wolves implicated in the last attack are the only animals being targeted at this stage, he said.
“They do seem to learn that it’s not a safe situation. They’re smart and they leave the area,” Abbott said. “These came back, but we may get lucky and they may just go back and remain there until you guys get heavy snow and the elk come back. It’s very hard to say if that’ll be the case.”
In addition to the lethal dissuasion, Wildlife Services also teamed up the Natural Resources Defense Council to attempt non-lethal deterrents on the Walton Ranch. For two weeks, until it was taken down this week, electric fence lined with red “fladry” — flags that blow in the wind — surrounded hundreds of cattle on the ranch property at the base of West Gros Ventre Butte.
The technique seemed to work, as no Walton Ranch cows were lost after the electrified fladry went up. After weeks of steady conflict, Walton Ranch cowboy Terry Schramm welcomed the lull in activity.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the spring brings,” Schramm said. “If there’s no wolves here then we don’t have to worry about it, but if they show up then we’ll have to do something.”

But the most recent conflict occurred on a nearby ranch, Abbott said.

Longtime Spring Gulch rancher Russ Lucas coped with wolf conflict earlier this year and still has livestock grazing in the area, but he wasn’t able to be reached for an interview.
Wolves have killed cattle in recent weeks in lower portions of the Gros Ventre drainage as well, Abbott said. The Slate Creek or Lower Gros Ventre Pack were the suspects, though Wildlife Services was not dispatched because it appeared to be an isolated attack.
2016 isn’t yet over, and it’s already proven to be the busiest to date for wolf-livestock conflict in Wyoming since the large carnivore was reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park 21 years ago.


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Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project Monthly Update - September 1-30, 2016

 

MEXICAN WOLF UPDATE       October 18, 2016 Arizona Game and Fish Department

Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project Monthly Update - September 1-30, 2016 The following is a summary of Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project (Project) activities in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA) in Arizona, including the Fort Apache Indian Reservation (FAIR), San Carlos Apache Reservation (SCAR), and New Mexico.  Additional Project information can be obtained by calling (928) 339-4329 or toll free at (888) 459-9653, or by visiting the Arizona Game and Fish Department website at www.azgfd.gov/wolf   or by visiting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website at www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf   . Past updates may be viewed on either website, or interested parties may sign up   to receive this update electronically. This update is a public document and information in it can be used for any purpose.  The Project is a multi-agency cooperative effort among the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD), USDA Forest Service (USFS), USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services (USDA-APHIS WS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS) and the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT). To view semi-monthly wolf telemetry flight location information please visit http://bit.do/mexicanwolf   or www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/RWL.cfm   . Please report any wolf sightings or suspected livestock depredations to: (928) 339-4329 or toll free at (888) 459-9653. To report incidents of take or harassment of wolves, please call the AGFD 24-hour dispatch (Operation Game Thief) at (800) 352-0700.   Overall Mexican Wolf Recovery Program Monthly Update   On September 1, The Mexican Wolf/Livestock Council met to approve payments for Mexican wolf presence for calendar year 2015.  Checks from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will be sent out to livestock producers who qualified for the payments within the next few weeks.   On September 28, The Fish and Wildlife Service met with the Forest Service Southwestern Regional Office to discuss issues surrounding public communication, coordination on release sites, and data sharing.    Numbering System:  Mexican wolves are given an identification number recorded in an official studbook that tracks their history.  Capital letters (M = Male, F = Female) preceding the number indicate adult animals 24 months or older.  Lower case letters (m = male, f = female) indicate wolves younger than 24 months or pups.  The capital letter “A” preceding the letter and number indicate breeding wolves. Definitions:  A “wolf pack” is defined as two or more wolves that maintain an established territory.  In the event that one of the two alpha (dominant) wolves dies, the remaining alpha wolf, regardless of pack size, retains the pack status.  The packs referenced in this update contain at least one wolf with a radio telemetry collar attached to it.  Studbook numbers listed in the monthly updated denote wolves with functioning radio collars.  The Interagency Field Team (IFT) recognizes that wolves without radio telemetry collars may also form packs.  CURRENT POPULATION STATUS Population monitoring requires year round effort documenting births, deaths, survival, total numbers, and distribution all culminating in the end of the year population counts.  Currently, there are 20 packs and 3 single wolves, which include 47 wolves with functioning radio collars that are used by the IFT to collect this data.   IN ARIZONA:   Bear Wallow Pack (collared AM1338 and AF1335) In September, the Bear Wallow Pack was located within their traditional territory in the east central portion of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (ASNF).  The female pup, fp1548, captured in August in the Bear Wallow Pack slipped its collar in September, but is believed to be healthy and still with the Bear Wallow Pack.   Bluestem Pack (collared M1382, F1443 and f1488) In September, the Bluestem Pack continued to use their traditional territory in the east central portion of the ASNF.  The pack continued to display rendezvousing behavior through the month.   Buckalou Pack (collared F1405) In September, F1405 continued to travel between Arizona and New Mexico in both the Gila and Apache National Forests.   .   Elk Horn Pack (collared AF1294, AM1342, mp1474 and mp1471) In September, the Elk Horn Pack was located within their traditional territory in the north eastern portion of the ASNF.  A male pup, mp1471, with the Elk Horn Pack was captured, collared and released in the month of September.  mp1471 is one of the two pups cross-fostered into the Elk Horn Pack in April 2016.  The IFT documented rendezvous behavior by this pack during the month of September. The Elk Horn Pack has periodically used a food cache set up by the IFT to supplement the pack due to the cross-foster of two pups this spring.    Hawks Nest Pack (collared AM1038) In September, the Hawks Nest Pack was located within their traditional territory in the north central portion of the ASNF.        Hoodoo Pack (collared AM1290, AF1333, m1441, fp1549 and fp1550) In September, the Hoodoo Pack remained in the north central portion of the ASNF.  The IFT documented rendezvous behavior by the Hoodoo Pack this month.  The Hoodoo Pack has continued to utilize the food cache put in place for them to prevent potential depredation issues in the area.    Marble Pack (collared AM1330) AM1330 was not heard or located during the month of September. The Marble Pack consists of one collared wolf.                         Maverick Pack (collared AF1291) In September, the Maverick Pack was located within their traditional territory both on the FAIR and ASNF.    Panther Creek Pack (collared F1339 and M1394) In September, the Panther Creek Pack was been located in the east central portion of the ASNF.  The Panther Creek Pack continued to show rendezvousing behavior and utilize the food cache that the IFT has maintained for them to supplement the pack due to the two pups cross-fostered into the Panther Creek Pack in April.  A male pup, mp1486, was captured, collared, and released in September.  mp1486 is not one of the pups cross-fostered into the Panther Creek Pack.      Single collared M1398 During September, M1398 was located in Arizona and New Mexico.  On September 16, M1398 was captured, processed and released.   ON THE FAIR:   Diamond Pack (collared m1447) In September, the Diamond Pack was located within their traditional territory in the eastern portion of the FAIR and the northwest portion of the ASNF.  Visual observations by the IFT confirmed AM1249 was traveling with the pack in September.   Tsay-o-Ah Pack (collared AM1343 and AF1283) In September, the Tsay-o-Ah Pack was located within their traditional territory in the eastern portion of the FAIR.   Baldy Pack (collared M1347 and f1445) In September, M1347 and f1445 were documented maintaining a territory together for at least three months – therefore they are considered a pack.  f1445 is formerly from the Tsay-o-Ah Pack and M1347 is formerly from the Dark Canyon Pack in New Mexico.  The pack was located in the eastern portion of the FAIR and northern portion of the ASNF. IN NEW MEXICO:   Dark Canyon Pack (collared AM992 and f1444) During September, the IFT located this pack within its traditional territory in the west central portion of the Gila National Forest (GNF).  f1444 was documented on trail camera traveling alone.     Iron Creek Pack (collared AM1240, AF1278, mp1555 and mp1556) During September, the Iron Creek Pack continued to utilize their territory in the northern portion of the Gila Wilderness and the southern portion of the GNF.  A diversionary food cache is being maintained for the Iron Creek Pack to mitigate potential wolf-livestock conflicts.  On September 29, an uncollared male pup was captured, collared and assigned studbook number 1555.  On September 30, an uncollared male pup was captured, collared, and assigned studbook number 1556. AM1240 and AF1278 were also captured and recollared on September 30.   Luna Pack (collared AF1487 and mp1554) During September, the Luna Pack remained in their traditional territory in the north central portion of the GNF.  The IFT is maintaining a diversionary and supplemental food cache in efforts to reduce potential for further livestock depredations.  On September 28, an uncollared male pup was captured, collared and assigned studbook number 1554.   Mangas Pack (collared M1296 and F1439) During September, the Mangas Pack was located within their territory in north western portions of the GNF in New Mexico.    Prieto Pack (collared M1386, m1455, f1456, M1552 and f1553) During September, the Prieto Pack was located within their traditional territory in the north central portion of the GNF.  On September 14, an uncollared adult male was captured, collared and assigned studbook number 1552.  On September 15, an uncollared yearling female was captured, collared and assigned studbook number 1553.   San Mateo Pack (collared AF1399) During September, the IFT documented AM1345 and AF1399 traveling together within their territory in the north central portion of the GNF.   A diversionary food cache is being maintained for the San Mateo Pack to reduce potential wolf-livestock conflicts.  On September 3, an uncollared female pup was captured, collared and assigned studbook number 1551.  Unfortunately, the pup slipped its collar a few weeks later.  Trapping efforts will continue this fall.   Sheepherders Baseball Park (SBP) Pack In September, the SBP Pack continued to use their traditional territory in the north central portion of the GNF.  AM1284 was not located during September.  AF1392 was located dead in New Mexico in September; the incident is under investigation. The IFT is trying to secure good opportunities to recollar AM1284 or any surviving pups.       Willow Springs Pack (collared F1397) In September, the IFT documented the Willow Springs Pack within their traditional territory in the north central portion of the GNF.    Single collared M1293 During September, M1293 was located within the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico.  A public sighting report suggests M1293 may be traveling with an uncollared wolf.   Single collared AM1155 During September, AM1155 was documented traveling within New Mexico.   MORTALITIES   In September, AF1392 of the SBP Pack was located dead in New Mexico.  The incident is under investigation.   INCIDENTS   During September there were ten livestock depredation reports and one nuisance report.  Six of the ten depredation reports were confirmed wolf kills.    On September 3, Wildlife Services investigated a dead calf in Navajo County, Arizona.  The investigation determined the calf had been hit by a vehicle and died from related causes.    On September 5, Wildlife Services investigated two dead cows in Apache County, Arizona.  The investigation determined both cows were confirmed wolf kills.   On September 6, Wildlife Services investigated a dead calf in Apache County, Arizona.  The investigation determined the calf was a confirmed wolf kill.   On September 7, Wildlife Services investigated a dead cow in Apache County, Arizona.  The investigation determined the cow had died from unknown cause. On September 9, AGFD and Wildlife Services investigated a report of two wolves fighting with dogs and acting aggressive toward people near Young, AZ.  The investigation determined domestic dogs were involved in the reported incident, not Mexican wolves.   On September 13, Wildlife Services investigated a dead calf in Apache County, Arizona.  The investigation determined the calf was a confirmed wolf kill.   On September 15, Wildlife Services investigated a dead cow in Apache County, Arizona.  The investigation determined the cow had been killed by coyotes.   On September 16, Wildlife Services investigated a dead cow in Apache County, Arizona.  The investigation determined the cow died of unknown causes.   On September 25, Wildlife Services investigated a dead calf in Catron County, New Mexico.  The investigation determined the calf was a confirmed wolf kill.   On September 26, Wildlife Services investigated a dead calf in Catron County, New Mexico.  The investigation determined the calf was a confirmed wolf kill.   On September 29, Wildlife Services investigated a dead calf in Apache County, Arizona.  The investigation determined the calf was a confirmed wolf kill.   COMMUNICATION AND COORDINATION   On September 15, WMAT presented at a community meeting in Cedar Creek, AZ.   On September 27, WMAT presented on KNNB radio in Whiteriver, AZ.   PROJECT PERSONNEL   In September, Cyrenea Piper began her position in the IFT as a biologist with the USFWS.  Welcome to the program Cyrenea!   In September, Rae Nickerson began as a volunteer/intern with the USFWS.  Welcome to the program Rae!   REWARDS OFFERED   The USFWS is offering a reward of up to $10,000; the AGFD Operation Game Thief is offering a reward of up to $1,000; and the NMDGF is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the shooting deaths of Mexican wolves.  A variety of non-governmental organizations and private individuals have pledged an additional $46,000 for a total reward amount of up to $58,000, depending on the information provided.   Individuals with information they believe may be helpful are urged to call one of the following agencies: USFWS special agents in Mesa, Arizona, at (480) 967-7900, in Alpine, Arizona, at (928) 339-4232, or in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at (505) 346-7828; the WMAT at (928) 338-1023 or (928) 338-4385; AGFD Operation Game Thief at (800) 352-0700; or NMDGF Operation Game Thief at (800) 432-4263.  Killing a Mexican wolf is a violation of the Federal Endangered Species Act and can result in criminal penalties of up to $50,000, and/or not more than one year in jail, and/or a civil penalty of up to $25,000.   source

ODFW confirms depredations by Chesnimnus, Imnaha pack wolves

By Steve Tool

Wallowa County Chieftain

Published on October 21, 2016

On Oct. 13, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed a wolf depredation on a calf in the Grouse Creek drainage area on public land southeast of Joseph. According to the report, a rancher moving cattle in the area noted wounds on the back legs of a 500-pound calf on Oct. 12. The rancher trailed the calf and other cattle to a private pasture. On the following morning, the ODFW examined the calf and determined its wounds were about a month old.

The department noted bite wounds on both hind legs above the hocks with the wounds mostly healed but with evident scarring, though some flesh remained exposed. No physical evidence of wolf presence was found since the exact location of the calf at the time of injury was unknown.

Previously, ODFW confirmed a wolf depredation in an adjacent pasture on July 15 and also confirmed a pair of wolf depredations on Sept. 28 and Oct. 6 approximately 8 miles to the north.
Also on Oct. 13, the ODFW confirmed a separate wolf depredation it investigated Sept. 6 in the Devils Run Creek drainage area. During the morning of Sept. 4 an archery hunter heard a bawling sound and walked toward it. Shortly afterward, at about 7:15 a.m., the hunter observed six wolves jumping around an object on the ground. 

Returning to the site with a camera at about 7:30 a.m., the man found a dead, 1‐month‐old calf where the wolves had been. The livestock owner and ODFW were contacted two days later and ODFW immediately investigated the site. Although lacking a carcass, drag marks suggested the calf had been moved to another location and consumed. 
ODFW didn’t receive the hunter’s photographs until early October. Those photos show a gray wolf walking near a group of bunched‐up cows and close‐ups of the dead calf with minimal feeding in the flank area. ODFW confirmed the location of the photographs.

As evidence of wolf depredation, ODFW cited wolf tracks observed at both the struggle and carcass sites. Seven separate blood stains also were found on the ground 8‐15 yards east of where the hunter found the carcass. That indicates a struggle site where the calf bled prior to death, and matches the hunter’s testimony.
The photographs show blood stains in the calf’s jaw and throat area with no apparent open wound or feeding activity, which indicate a premortem injury, ODFW said.

Additionally, GPS radio collar data for wolf OR-42 showed its location as approximately 600 yards east of the carcass site at 3 a.m. Sept. 4, approximately 350 yards northwest of site at 6 a.m. and approximately 600 yards east of the site at 9 a.m.

OR-42 is a member of the Chesnimnus Pack.

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Wolves wander back into the news

October 21, 2016

A ODFW worker studies an immobilized wolf from the Imnaha Pack in February 2015. Photo: ODFW

SALEM, Oregon – Wallowa County wolves are behind two new acts of depredation. Both attacks were against calves, and one was caught on film by a hunter in the Devil’s Run Creek drainage.
The hunter spotted six wolves clustered around an object that proved to be the body of a calf. He sent pictures of a wolf near a group of cattle and of the corpse of the calf. It’s a good thing he did. By the time investigators arrived there was no carcass.

What they found instead was blood, wolf tracks and drag marks where the carcass had been. The Chesnimnus Pack is charged with the kill which was reported in September, but the result wasn’t announced until this week.

The second depredation, which was found last week in the Grouse Creek drainage area, is also thought to have occurred a month earlier. A 500-pound calf was found to be suffering from injuries that are consistent with a wolf attack. Investigators say that an unnamed group of wolves in that area are responsible. That group of wolves is also credited with two other acts of depredation since late September.

OLYMPIA, Washington – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has decided to stop killing wolves in the Profanity Peak Pack. Lethal action against that pack in northeastern Washington was ordered after numerous attacks on cattle occurred.

As a result of the kill order, seven members of the pack were shot dead. WDFW also reports a pup from that pack died of natural causes. That means only four wolves remain in the pack and the state has decided they will cease hunting them since most of the cattle have left that area.

Profanity Peak is one of 19 packs documented in the state. Of those, 16 are located on the east side. Those wolves were removed from the federal endangered species list in 2009 and are managed solely by the state of Washington.

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Wolf warning in Fort Simpson after animals seen lurking in community

Wildlife officer shot and killed a wolf in his own driveway last week

By Mark Rendell, CBC News Posted: Oct 20, 2016 
 

'We are in wolf country, and this is an annual event,' says Carl Lafferty. This photo was taken in Fort Simpson, N.W.T. last year by Maxine Norwegian. (Submitted by Maxine Norwegian)

Wildlife officers in Fort Simpson are asking people to travel in groups and avoid leaving garbage on their properties, after a string of wolf sightings in the community over the past several weeks.
"Wolves are showing up outside people's residences in the wee hours and it seems like they're trying to get access to their pets," says Carl Lafferty, regional superintendent in the Deh Cho for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Last week, a wildlife officer shot and killed a wolf in the middle of the night in his own driveway, says Lafferty. The animal had been lurking around his property for several nights in a row.
 A number of small wolf packs have been spotted on the outskirts of the community of 1,200.
"One of our local RCMP members, during the day on the way to the landfill, was fortunate enough to video some wolves crossing in front of his vehicle, and there must have been about five of them," says Lafferty.
"We had a harvester that was returning late in the evening about a week and a half ago, and as he was pulling up to the community boat launch, there was four wolves waiting for him there," he adds.
Wolves are no stranger to the area, especially around this time of year. But Lafferty says there are more than usual.
"They seem to have lost a bit of their fear which is why we're asking people just to be a little bit more wolf aware."

Face to face with a wolf?  

"If you do have to go for a walk in the early morning hours or in the evening, don't go alone…[and] keep your dog on a leash," advises Lafferty.
If you actually run into a wolf, he recommends trying to make yourself as a big as possible, maintaining eye contact and slowly backing away.
"Act aggressively to it: make noise, clap your hands, blow a whistle. Most people travel with bear bangers when they're out hiking. Maybe it's a good opportunity to discharge one of those."
He's not sure what's drawing so many wolves to the community this year, but he says it may have to do with people leaving attractants such as garbage, dog food or drying meat outside.
"And I can't stress enough that there's safety in numbers. Join up with your friends, and go for a walk together: four, five, six people... That way they can enjoy the outdoors without having to fear being exposed to wolves."

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