Wolf problems calm

by Cat Urbigkit

Wolves in Sublette County haven't been confirmed as killing livestock in the county in the last week, according to Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

There was one more confirmed depredation recently near Cora, but wildlife officials couldn't estimate exactly when the kill had occurred, he said. That brings the total to two calves killed by wolves in that area in the last month.

There have been no further reported depredations on domestic sheep in the Wyoming Range since two wolves were killed there a week ago, Jimenez said. Although one black wolf reportedly remains in the area, no problems have been reported.

Jimenez said he received a report of a wolf with pups in the Daniel Junction area on Monday, but hadn't yet investigated the report.

The female wolf with pups in the Upper Green River region hasn't been causing any problems either, Jimenez said. This Green River female has been seen with other wolves again (her mate was killed earlier this summer after killing livestock on several occasions), and Jimenez said these animals are probably members of the Teton pack, some of which have been roaming in the Upper Green and Union Pass areas. This female has five pups that weigh about 40 pounds each, and is in the same general area as the Clear Creek Complex wildfire.

Jimenez confirmed reports that every Wyoming wolf pack that does not reside in a national park has been involved in livestock depredations, with the exceptions of two packs; the Beartooth and Thermopolis packs.

"It hasn't been chronic," Jimenez said, noting that a variety of actions have been taken to address specific problems, including lethal control to remove problem wolves.

In other wolf news, other parts of the state are starting to experience depredations as well. After a range sheep outfit near Ten Sleep reported a wolf had killed about eight head of sheep on a grazing allotment last week, federal wildlife officials investigated and confirmed that a wolf had caused the sheep deaths. On Sunday, a federal official shot a wolf on a dead sheep in the same allotment. This gray male wolf is believed to have been alone.