WENATCHEE — State wildlife
experts have concluded that a pregnant cow found dead south of Wenatchee
on Tuesday was not killed by a wolf. However they are still worried about the two gray
wolves that appear to be establishing territory on or near a cattle
ranch in Pitcher Canyon. “We’re just kind of on pins and needles hoping that
this livestock operator doesn’t have any more issues with dead cows,”
said Matt Monda, regional wildlife program manager for the state
Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Once wolves learn that livestock is a
meal, then we will have to go in and take action.”
In extreme cases, the action may require killing wolves, which are protected under federal and state endangered species laws. “But that’s a very volatile path to take,” he added.
Pictures of the wolves have been captured on remote
camera feeding on elk carcasses on the ranch for the last week and a
half, though wildlife experts also concluded that the wolves had not
killed at least one of those elks.
Monda said if the wolves had just come across a dead
elk, they could feed on it for a week or more. So the agency doesn’t
know if the wolves are just lingering in the canyon right now because
they’ve found dead animals to eat or whether they’ve established a
territory that now includes the ranch.
“As long as they have something to eat, there’s no reason for them to go somewhere else,” he said.
State biologists and enforcement officers dissected
the dead cow in Pitcher Canyon on Tuesday with the ranchers present.
Monda said they did not find any puncture holes, crushing bruises or
internal bleeding that are characteristic of wolves or other predators
having killed an animal.“Something did eat the cow, but all evidence
indicated that it was fed upon after it died,” he said. “But there was
no sign of a scuffle, no torn-up ground, no blood. There was absolutely
no sign that it was killed by a predator of any kind.”
The agency hopes to trap one or both of the wolves
this spring. Once the animals are outfitted with tracking collars, the
agency can get a better idea of their territory and movement patterns.
Monda said the two closest wolf packs to Wenatchee —
the Teanaway pack near Cle Elum and the Lookout pack in the Methow
Valley — have very different territory patterns. The Teanaway pack tends
to stay at lower elevations year round as it follows the deer and elk
populations. The Lookout pack in the Methow Valley moves from lower,
more populated elevations in the winter to higher, more backcountry
locations in the summer, with the migration of the deer.. “So we don’t know if these (Wenatchee) wolves will
move further and further away from Wenatchee as the summer progresses,”
Monda said.
Pitcher Canyon is on the fringe of the Colockum elk habitat, “in an area where we would expect a wolf pack to do well,” he said. Monda said the agency has no prediction on how large
a pack could grow near Wenatchee. He said the Lookout pack to the north
is “tenuous at best” with just two known wolves right now. “They are just barely hanging on up there,” he said,
adding that while the territory in North Central Washington is prime
for wolves, “They aren’t taking off (in numbers) here like they have in
other areas.”
The state agency had expected wolves to have
established themselves more by now in the area between Wenatchee and the
Methow Valley, he said. If the two wolves spotted near Wenatchee are
establishing a pack here, then Wenatchee would be the largest city in
the state to have a wolf pack so close. However, many smaller
communities do have wolves routinely nearby, including Winthrop and
Twisp.
If the wolves hang around, Monda said the agency will make a “concerted effort” to educate people in the area about them. The most likely interactions between people and wolves are either ranches or people who are hiking or working in wolf territory. But Monda said it’s no different than the
expectation that you might encounter a black bear, coyote, cougar or
bobcat in the same areas. “Is there any added risks with the wolves? I would say probably not,” he said.
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