The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has reported that a fifth wolf was killed in the Southern Mountains zone, which includes the Wood River Valley and extends east across the Pioneer, White Knob, Lost River, Lemhi and Beaverhead mountain ranges to the Montana border.
Fish and Game's Magic Valley Regional Biologist Regan Berkley said the wolf was shot on Tuesday, but could not confirm where it was killed or if it was a member of the Phantom Hill pack.
A limit of 10 wolves can be killed in the zone.
Seventy-four wolves have been killed in Idaho since the hunt opened Sept. 15. The quota for the state is 220.
Fish and Game issued a press release on Tuesday asking hunters to check on harvest limits for the zone in which they are hunting, as the limits are being approached in a number of the zones. In the Upper Snake zone, four wolves have been killed, leaving one before the quota is reached. In the Palouse-Hells Canyon zone, the limit is five and hunters have taken two. And in the McCall-Weiser zone, 13 of 15 wolves have been taken.
Wolf conservationist Lynne Stone said she expected the hunt in the Southern Mountains zone to close in the next few weeks as more elk hunters take to the woods on the weekends.
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The Southern Idaho zone, with a quota of five, is the only zone in which no wolves have been killed.
While hunters have spotted the Phantom Hill pack north of Ketchum in recent weeks, another pack has possibly made its way into the Wood River Valley, as a Sun Valley police officer reported five gray wolves stalking elk on the Elkhorn Golf Course on Oct. 13.
Sun Valley Police Chief said one of his deputies, whom he declined to identify, saw the wolves about 3 a.m. chasing a herd of about 30 elk, which scattered, and then later bedding down about 5 a.m. near the southern entrance of Elkhorn Village.
Berkley said the wolves could be part of the Little Wood pack, which killed numerous sheep north of Carey this summer. Berkley said the pack is now considered to have five or six wolves after some members were killed in a control action by U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services.
"It's a relatively new pack, so we don't know the exact boundaries of its home range," Berkley said. "I would be a little surprised [if they were in Elkhorn], but not bowled over."
Berkley said one of the wolves in that pack has been fitted with a radio collar, but that a department conservation officer did not find a signal when responding to the report in Sun Valley.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
