Twenty wolves in Upper Green?

by Cat Urbigkit

There have been rumors about the number of wolves known to be prowling in the Upper Green River region. Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helped to clarify the issue this week.

The resident Upper Green River wolf pack consisted of three adult wolves and their nine pups. One adult and two pups were killed last month by federal control specialists in response to livestock depredations, leaving a total of nine wolves in this pack (two adults and seven pups). One of the adults is wearing a radio collar.

The Black Butte pack consists of five adult black wolves, along with an unknown number of pups. Two of these wolves are sporting radio collars. Pups at this time of year weigh about 40 to 50 pounds.

There are at least one or two lone wolves known to be in the area, including the one killing sheep at the Sampson place north of Cora. One of the lone wolves, an older adult female, was killed in a control action in the Upper Green Tuesday morning. That’s 13 wolves killed in Sublette County so far this year.

In addition, there are two wolves that have spent the last year in the Gros Ventre and have been spotted in the Mosquito Lake area. One of these wolves is wearing a radio collar.

So it appears that the guess of about 20 wolves in the Upper Green River region is about right.