Idaho Mountain Express: Idaho wolf numbers drop again

Friday, March 9, 2012

Idaho wolf numbers drop again

296 wolves killed in 2011

By KATHERINE WUTZ
Express Staff Writer

Idaho wolf numbers have dropped for the second year in a row.

According to a 2011 annual summary of wolf monitoring conducted by the Nez Perce Tribe and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the wolf population is estimated at 746 animals in 101 packs statewide. That's down from 777 wolves at the end of 2010 and down from an estimated peak of 856 wolves at the end of 2009.

"Thanks to Idaho's hunters and trappers, we've made good progress in getting the wolf population under control," Idaho Fish and Game Deputy Director Jim Unsworth said in a news release Wednesday. "But we've still got a ways to go."

Though the number of wolves has decreased, the report states that the number of packs has increased steadily since reintroduction. In 2009, there were only 94 packs in Idaho. Roughly 40 of the current 101 Idaho packs are believed to contain "breeding pairs," or pairs of wolves that produce two or more pups in any given year that survive through Dec. 31.

Fish and Game biologists confirmed the deaths of 296 wolves in 2011, 200 of which were legally killed by hunters and trappers. Control actions took 63 wolves, and 18 wolves were killed illegally. The causes of the remaining 12 wolf deaths were unconfirmed, the department stated in a news release.

According to the report, wolves killed 71 cattle and 121 sheep in 2011. The deaths of 19 cattle and 26 sheep were considered "probable" wolf kills during the year.

comprar cialis
acheter cialis
buy cialis

About Comments

Comments with content that seeks to incite or inflame may be removed.

Comments that are in ALL CAPS may be removed.

Comments that are off-topic or that include profanity or personal attacks, libelous or other inappropriate material may be removed from the site. Entries that are unsigned or contain signatures by someone other than the actual author may be removed. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or any other policies governing this site. Use of this system denotes full acceptance of these conditions. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing, Inc.

You may flag individual comments. You may also report an inappropriate or offensive comment by clicking here.

Flagging Comments: Flagging a comment tells a site administrator that a comment is inappropriate. You can find the flag option by pointing the mouse over the comment and clicking the 'Flag' link.

Flagging a comment is only counted once per person, and you won't need to do it multiple times.

Proper Flagging Guidelines: Every site has a different commenting policy - be sure to review the policy for this site before flagging comments. In general these types of comments should be flagged: