This photo of pups from north-central Washington's Lookout Pack was taken in 2008. Two adult wolves from the pack are thought to be responsible for a recent calf-kill.
credit:
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
RICHLAND, Wash – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says a pack of two wolves probably killed a calf in north-central Washington. This is the first documented wolf predation case in the state since December. Regional director Steve Pozzanghera says because the calf was fed on after it died, wildlife managers cannot say for certain if wolves killed it.
“We lost a lot of information that would have been available to us, had it been either reported sooner and/or had it been protected from any possible scavenging,” Pozzanghera says.
The state will compensate the livestock owner. The agency hopes to collar the two wolves in the Lookout Pack this week. That will help them track the pair. Wolves in the western two-thirds of the state are protected by the Endangered Species Act.
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