Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials believe the Phantom Hill wolf pack has become too accustomed to the Wood River Valley's residential areas.
So, concerned by the near-constant presence of the all-black, 10-member pack around neighborhoods stretching from Sun Valley to Hailey in recent weeks, Fish and Game decided to take action to scare the wolves off to more remote areas.
"We will likely be hazing these wolves away from the area sometime in the next few days," said Regan Berkley, the department's Magic Valley regional wildlife biologist, on Monday.
For the past two weeks, watching the Phantom Hill wolves—the first pack confirmed to have taken up residence and given birth to pups in the Wood River Valley since the 1995 reintroduction of wolves to the northern Rocky Mountains—has nearly become an everyday part of locals' lives.
Hunting and feeding on elk, the pack was first seen by many residents for a period of several days in the Elkhorn foothills east of Sun Valley. The pack is believed to have killed a solitary, 2-year-old male cougar that was also hunting in the area.
Within the past 10 days, the Phantom Hill wolves have begun to occupy areas outside of what was considered their normal home range from Ketchum northwest into the upper Big Wood River drainage to Galena Summit. Following their Elkhorn showing, the wolves were heard and spotted by a number of residents and Fish and Game conservation officers out the East Fork of the Big Wood River. There, the pack is known to have taken down a wintering mule deer and an elk.
Early last week—apparently after crossing state Highway 75 unseen somewhere between Ketchum and Hailey—the pack was spotted by numerous valley residents in the rolling hills on the north side of Deer Creek, north of Hailey. From there, the pack headed north to Greenhorn Gulch, where it was spotted off and on until Monday spending time within sight of area homeowners.
Photos of the pack near an elk kill on the north side of the residential road that heads west into Greenhorn Gulch have made the local e-mail rounds. The pack has also drawn its fair share of people—both for and against the animals' presence—hoping to catch a glimpse of the highly visible wolves.
Fish and Game officers believe the pack was drawn to Greenhorn Gulch by wintering elk attracted to a private feeding operation out Timber Gulch near the Golden Eagle subdivision, on the west side of Highway 75.
Berkley said Fish and Game has decided to use a helicopter to locate and then haze the wolves. She said the department plans to scare the pack away using a shotgun loaded with non-lethal "cracker shells."
Cracker shells are typically shot above or to the side of an animal and give off a loud bang. Berkley said the main goal of the "adversive conditioning" is to drive the wolves off and teach them to stay away from humans.
Around noon on Tuesday, unofficial word came in from residents in the Sun Valley area that Fish and Game was taking advantage of a break in the weather to attempt the aerial hazing. Though no one was available at the Magic Valley office to confirm that, reports indicated that the Phantom Hill pack had made its way back to the Elkhorn foothills by Tuesday, thereby completing a full circle of the mid-valley.
So far, the wolves have not preyed upon any pets or domestic livestock. Fish and Game officials are still concerned that the pack could get into trouble by going after domestic dogs.
"You should keep your pets indoors as much as possible," Berkley said.
When outdoors, she said, people should keep their dogs on a leash or within their line of sight. She said people should also try to keep other animals—horses, llamas and sheep—as close to their barns and houses as possible.
"The closer they are to home, the safer they are going to be," she said.
On Monday, Berkley said the timing of the hazing is ideal. She said warmer weather is melting snow on the hillsides, which should cause the wolves' main prey to scatter. The wintering elk will eventually head higher into surrounding mountains as summer arrives, she said.
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
One of the 10-member Phantom Hill wolf pack rests alongside the main residential road heading up Greenhorn Gulch southwest of Ketchum late last week. Near-daily sightings of the all-black wolves—including one seen jumping a fence into a field behind a home in Greenhorn and then getting chased off by three large Alaskan malamutes—have created a stir in the Wood River Valley. Photo by Curtis Tidwell
