The final pup-date?– Well, this isn’t how we hoped it would turn out, but it appears the lost wolf pup will be leaving the Boise Zoo soon for a permanent captive facility. (Read the full story in the Idaho Mountain Express.) After two weeks of searching the central Idaho wilderness, our wolf team and Idaho Fish and Game were unable to find the rest of the pup’s pack. The remote cameras we placed did not turn up any evidence near the area where he was found, and dense cover has made it nearly impossible to track wolves from above or below.
Several well-established wolf rescue facilities have offered to make a new home for the pup. In the end, the sad saga reminds us all that wild animals, no matter how apparently helpless or irresistibly cute, are best left alone. The out-of-town campers who found the pup can’t be blamed for trying to help, but the result is still one less wolf in the wild.
Thanks again to everyone who pitched in over the last two weeks, including the Sun Valley Animal Center, Idaho Fish and Game, U.S. Forest Service, Steve Garman with Lighthawk, and our many, many supporters in the community.
Ewes lambing near the Flat Top Ranch in central Idaho's Wood River Valley.
Bad to worse at Flat Top ranch — Wildlife Services is after three more wolves in the Wood River Valley after more dead sheep were found this week on the Flat Top Ranch near Carey, Idaho. Ranch owner John Peavey has not yet adopted adequate nonlethal deterrents and continues to leave carcasses out in the field that draw wolves and coyotes to the area. (Read more in the Idaho Mountain Express.) His ewes are spread out in small bands that are unguarded instead of protecting them in lambing sheds, making them an easy target for hungry predators. So far this month, fourteen coyotes and one wolf have been killed to reduce threats to his sheep.
While it may be too late to spare the wolves being blamed for the sheep losses, we’re also concerned that the incident undermines the tremendous success we’ve had to date. For five years, the Wood River Wolf Project has been able to minimize losses, bringing the depredation rate well below the state average. Further, our positive collaboration with wolf advocates, county officials and local ranchers had created much goodwill in the community. We’re hoping Mr. Peavey will take us up on our offer to help him implement a better lambing program to avoid further losses in the future.
Wildlife Services' "killer bee" airplane targets coyotes and wolves for removal in response to sheep losses.
The Flat Top incident has also highlighted the serious failing of USDA Wildlife Services. This federal program’s vision is to improve the coexistence of people and wildlife. However, the only actions they have taken in this instance have made the situation worse. They have been flying the area extensively and killing coyotes and now a wolf instead of helping with nonlethal measures to avoid losses.
Great Lakes wolf management — By and large, the Great Lakes states have done a good job of restoring wolves and putting reasonable management plans in place (if only we could say the same about the Northern Rockies). However, both Wisconsin and Minnesota are quickly moving forward with regulations to allow controlled wolf hunts. Minnesota has issued a survey to solicit feedback from the public on their wolf management. Don’t miss your chance to weigh in! Read more about the survey here. Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources is holding three public meetings next week to discuss population monitoring, livestock depredation and wolf hunting. See details below:
- Wolf Harvest Rules Meeting – Friday, June 15, open house at 6 p.m., presentations at 7 p.m., James Williams Middle School Auditorium, 915 Acacia Lane, Rhinelander
- Wolf Science Committee Meeting – Friday June 15, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Quality Inn, 668 West Kemp St., Rhinelander (open for public observation)
- Wolf Stakeholders Committee Meeting – Saturday, June 16, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Quality Inn, 668 West Kemp St., Rhinelander (open for public observation)
Defenders of Wildlife leads the pack when it comes to protecting wild animals and plants in their natural communities.
The decision on whether to have a wolf season and when it should start already has been made through the legislative process in Minnesota … 6000 permits will be issued Fall of 2012 to hunt wolves! :0(
Regarding wolves & livestock … why do farmers not get livestock protection dogs (LPD) to help manage their flocks. We know of, and have read of, many folks who successfully use dogs to deter wolves (and other predators). The lack of using LPDs baffles me.
[Reply]
I did not know that thay still had wolfs in Wisconsin I lived in Wisconsin I was born in 1959 and lived thare till 1976 went to the Army out in 79 and live in fl now..
[Reply]
I continue to urge Defenders to work with other pro-wolf groups to engage in an economic boycott of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to include tourism and all products from these states to encourage them to adopt science-based wolf management plans rather than to sell out to special interests and exterminate the wolves.
[Reply]
“In the end, the sad saga reminds us all that wild animals, no matter how apparently helpless or irresistibly cute, are best left alone. The out-of-town campers who found the pup can’t be blamed for trying to help, but the result is still one less wolf in the wild.”
While I agree the true happy ending would be for the wolf pup to have found his pack and live in the wild for many years without human intervention, I also disagree that helpless animals should be left alone. Is a dead wolf pup better than an adult wolf living in captivity? Hard call to make.
[Reply]
Hi. I would like to know the range of the gray wolf in ontario, I can’t find anything on this site or on the net. People say that they’ve seen them around here (Long Sault, Ontario, near Cornwall). I thought their range was Algonqin park and father north. I think they have seen coyotes, not wolves. I hope you can help me figure this out. Thanks in advance. Del
[Reply]
The fact that Joseph Peavy also had Wildlife Services kill a pack a few years ago goes to show that non-lethal methods do not work and are ineffective, if two years later (I think it was 2010 that the first bunch were killed) another pack comes in and does the same exact thing. I always tell people that they need to teach the existing pack what is and is not okay, without killing them. If they are successful in doing so, they will leave the sheep alone as long as it is guarded, and keep other wolf packs, and possibly other predators like coyotes (since they sometimes eat them) away.
[Reply]
Sarah Coberly Reply:
July 25th, 2012 at 5:54 am
*Lethal methods, sorry.
[Reply]
How cute wonder how many elk he will eat?
[Reply]
Angie Reply:
June 18th, 2012 at 4:11 pm
So? That’s their natural food. That’s what they eat to survive. They don’t have a choice. How many cows do you eat? Of which you don’t have to. You’d rather the elk be there for hunters to kill instead, i suppose. That type of killing is perfectly okay.
[Reply]
There’s nothing wrong with WIldlife Services “killer bee” airplane that a surface to air missile couldn’t fix. In fact that entire agency should be taken out. Better a smoking hole in the ground than the enormous waste of taxpayer dollars and the incredible abuses that rogue agency has perpetrated on behalf of idiots like John Peavey who would rather “cry wolf” while intentionally exacerbating the situation than work with people that are trying to help him and the wolves.
His practices are abhorrent. Add his ranch to the places that should be wiped off the map too.
[Reply]
I don’t blame the campers for taking the pup in. I’m not sure if I could ever not wonder what happened to the little guy if I had just left it… lots of bad thoughts would be swirling in my head, unfortunately. At least now he’s going to be given somewhat of a life. Little chance of survival if his pack didn’t come back to rescue him.
[Reply]
The puppy is OK. He is safe and certainly is eligible for breeding, or possibly as an ambassador Too bad he was taken from the wild, but the intentions were good. This is far from a disaster.
As for the sheep, Wolves don’t normally leave dead prey. They take what they can eat and no more. Coyotes are more likely to feed on carcasses, although they often only take what they need. These losses just don’t have Wolf signatures.
[Reply]