Some news of Wyoming wolves.
Two members of the Daniel Pack "controlled"
Dec. 21, 2004
Outside of Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, the relatively small wolf population has struggled to the end of the year with about the same number of wolves as last.
Most of the conflict, as usual has been in Sublette County (Big Piney, Pinedale), a natural wildlife migration corridor southward, now being seriously disrupted by massive natural gas development and sagebrush sub-divisions. Fifteen wolves have been killed in this country during the year, (almost 20%) of the Wyoming wolf population.
The latest wolf casualties were again from the Daniel Pack, which was not seen all summer, but showed up on the floor of the Green River Basin this fall and has been controlled 3 times. Two black wolves, one male and one female, were killed about 15 miles west of Big Piney. The pack still has 7 members. The latest control was of 2 wolves in response to livestock losses. These kills had been authorized before hunting season, but could not be carried out until the season ended because aircraft disrupt hunting.
There is more to the story, however. Wildife Services and the USFWS does not release names of people who have had "trouble with wolves." The Dec. 16 issue of the Sublette Examiner, however, indicated that much of the controversy was over the wolves visiting the residence of Ron Sherbrook, who lives in a small subdivision in the wide open spaces about 5 miles north of Big Piney. Members of the pack have been regularly visiting his yard. In late November, Wyoming wolf manager Mike Jimenez had given Sherbrook rubber bullets to shoot the wolves. He apparently did not, or was unable to use them. The Examiner made an issue of the fact that the wolves probably ended up killing the family's domestic cat. The Examiner quoted him "I think a person should be able to shoot them if they are on your property," "We've got to do something. What I'd like to see is to give us the okay to kill them."
Looking at the topographic map, this subdivision appears to be in an area frequented not just by wolves, but coyotes, owls, eagles, and bobcats, all of which seek out and kill felis domesticus. Of course antelope, deer, and elk are also in the area serving to attract their natural predators.
I wonder if the governor and county commissioners will add the cat to their growing list of wolf related outrages? Note: we live on the edge of Pocatello, Idaho, next to the steep side of the Bannock Range. Coyotes keep killing cats in our neighborhood. None have gotten newspaper attention.
In other Sublette County news a group of 5 wolves has split off from Jackson Hole's Teton Pack and moved south to the area between Cora, Pinedale and Boulder, another place of small towns, subdivisions, elk winter feedgrounds (one the source of much of the brucellosis infection of cattle in Wyoming), farms, ranches, gas drilling, all in scattered private and public lands.
Back up north, the Teton Pack has moved into its traditional winter area -- the Gros Ventre River valley. A winter study of their interactions with elk is again underway. The pack was recently counted at 13 wolves. So far Wyoming Game and Fish has not started feeding the elk because there is little snow and natural feed available.
Further north the new Owl Creek Pack has its second control in a year, leaving the pack with, I believe, the alpha pair and two pups. Two 95-pound pups were shot for livestock offenses.
Finally, one or two wolves continue to hang near LaBarge (south of Big Piney). Hopefully they will eventually head south and end up in Colorado or Utah, although the normal pattern has been control or illegal shooting.
There is no new news about the rest of the Wyoming wolf packs. Jimenez keeps listening for 253M and 376F, the 2 Druids people want to know about, but their signals have not been detected.
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Copyright © 2004 Ralph Maughan
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