Washington kills three wolves this season to quell cattle attacks Story not accurate

If We do the Math correctly… even if it was only 3… or 4 that is too many, especially with the recent delisting being overturned….and reasons sited were states that dual listed… where part are not endangered, and part are would create problems… Look whats happening in Washington State as well as Oregon……They have proven Dr.Rob Wielgus’s Research as being accurate!!

Technically there were 4 Wolves killed in Washington this year 3 of which were Smackout Pack, 1 was Sherman Pack. 3 being Slaughtered by WDFW, 1 Smackout by a Rancher we were informed….. the very first kill was reported by a Huckleberry picker to us that WDFW met a bunch of gun toters 15 miles from smackout meadows…. as they drove by wdfw was looking over the bank. They even went as far as sweeping the dirt road it appeared when they were done the Pickers informed Us. If WDFW reported Killing 2 Smackout Members as their update claimed… Rancher killed 1 Smackout Member… that would make a total of 4 with the 1 Sherman Member WDFW Slaughtered if I count on 1 hand and using 4 fingers.

ENDANGERED SPECIES — Wolves have kept Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife field staff busy this suummer, especially in Stevens, Ferry and Asotin counties.

Gray wolves are protected in Washington by state endangered species rules, but lethal measures can be taken in cases of self-defense or repeated attacks on livestock.

At least six wolf attacks on livestock have been confirmed this season despite prevention efforts including range riders. Cattle depredations have been confirmed in Stevens and Ferry counties this summer as well as in Asotin County, where a cow and calf were attacked this month southeast of Cloverland by the Tucannon Pack.

Two wolves from the Smackout Pack and one wolf from the Sherman Pack have been killed by state-authorized shooters in response to separate incidents.  In both cases, no further cattle attacks in those pack areas have been confirmed.

The wolf from the Sherman Pack in Ferry County was killed by shooters between Aug. 25 and Sept. 1 following confirmed wolf attacks on cattle in Sherman Pack territory on Aug. 24 and 28, according to wolf management reports posted by the agency. The Sherman Pack was involved in six confirmed cattle attacks in a span of 11 months.

More than a dozen incidents were investigated in the past month alone to see if wolves were culpable in attacks on livestock and pets. Dogs, coyotes and other issues were the cause of most of those reports, officials said.

However, a wolf that officials say may be part of a new pack forming in northern Stevens County killed a cow, confirmed on Aug. 31. The department earlier this year had confirmed at least 20 wolf packs in Washington. The culprit in the livestock attack is thought to have dispersed from the Dirty Shirt Pack. That wolf has been photographed in proximity to a wolf that branched out of a pack in British Columbia, officials said.

The Dirty Shirt disperser killed the cow in a fenced pen on private land despite daily checks by the producers and other deterrent actions such as using lights, said state wolf manager Donny Martorello.

Stevens County holds the majority of wolves that are naturally moving back into Washington from Idaho, British Columbia and Oregon. Six of the 20 confirmed packs in Washington are in Stevens County.

At least one wolf in all of the confirmed packs has been captured, fitted with a GPS collar and released so biologists can monitor pack movements.

One wolf that dispersed into Western Washington this season was captured and collared.  At last report, it was still in Skagit County.

Source: Washington kills three wolves this season to quell cattle attacks | The Spokesman-Review