Two wolves killed

A second Dubois rancher has been granted a "shoot on sight" permit to kill a wolf, and federal officials have killed two adult wolves in the last week in the area.

Two weeks ago, wolves once again began preying on livestock on the Diamond G Ranch. The ranch foreman was granted a kill permit, and now a neighboring rancher has been granted a permit as well. Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said federal officials managed to kill one adult male and one adult female from the 12-member wolf pack within the last week, and will probably kill another one or two animals from the pack if possible.

According to a FWS report, on June 11, U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services personnel confirmed that the Washakie wolf pack killed a calf on the Diamond G Ranch near Dubois. On June 28, Wildlife Services and FWS personnel re-initiated control actions, resulting in last week's taking of two wolves.

According to the report, the neighboring ranch suffered a calf loss the week before, but all that were left were a few bones, so no cause of death could be determined.

In Idaho wolf news, during the June 22 weekend, a man was exercising his German Wirehair Pointer on public land and let it out to work some sage grouse near Hill City, Idaho.

According to the FWS report: "He reported walking over a small hill five minutes later and seeing a black wolf standing over his dead dog. He fired a blank pistol and the wolf backed off. He returned to his truck and got his rifle.

"By the time he returned, the wolf had moved off 100 yards and watched as he removed the dog's body," the report stated. "The dog appeared to die from a broken neck. No control or compensation is provided for hunting dogs that are killed by wolves."

In other news, Jimenez said that the pair of wolves believed to have denned in the Upper Green River region have left the area and are not exhibiting the type of behavior associated with rearing pups. Jimenez said the pair has moved into the Gros Ventre.