A pack of wolves went on a killing spree near one of the winter feedgrounds of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department this week. The savage attack left 19 elk dead, including 17 calves, in what one expert called an “extremely rare” event.
WGFD regional wildlife supervisor John Lund told County 10 in Lander, Wyoming, that he suspects the pack of wolves that killed the elk at one of the department’s 22 feedgrounds throughout the state are repeat visitors.
“The one [pack] that has been hitting this feedground as far as we can tell is called the Rim Pack,” Lund told County 10. “I think there are nine wolves in that pack …
“This is a rare event. A lot of people call it a surplus killing. It has been observed on other occasions, just not very often. This was one of those events. Several wolves came in over one night and killed 19 elk. Normally one or two elk a night here and there is no big deal, but 19 in one night is fairly rare.”
Mike Jimenez, the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told County 10 that “surplus killings” such as this one are extremely rare for wolves.
“By and large, wolves don’t kill for sport,” Jimenez said. “We did an eight-year study and we looked at elk feedgrounds. What we found is that generally wolves did not kill what they did not eat.”
What recourse is there for the WGFD to prevent further excessive slaughters by wolves? None.
“We are kind of in a bind right now because we don’t have any management authority of wolves,” Lund told County 10. “That is strictly the USFWS that has that authority. We manage the elk on the feedgrounds, but with wolves, we don’t have any management authority.”
Source: USA TODAY
WGFD regional wildlife supervisor John Lund told County 10 in Lander, Wyoming, that he suspects the pack of wolves that killed the elk at one of the department’s 22 feedgrounds throughout the state are repeat visitors.
“The one [pack] that has been hitting this feedground as far as we can tell is called the Rim Pack,” Lund told County 10. “I think there are nine wolves in that pack …
“This is a rare event. A lot of people call it a surplus killing. It has been observed on other occasions, just not very often. This was one of those events. Several wolves came in over one night and killed 19 elk. Normally one or two elk a night here and there is no big deal, but 19 in one night is fairly rare.”
Mike Jimenez, the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told County 10 that “surplus killings” such as this one are extremely rare for wolves.
“By and large, wolves don’t kill for sport,” Jimenez said. “We did an eight-year study and we looked at elk feedgrounds. What we found is that generally wolves did not kill what they did not eat.”
What recourse is there for the WGFD to prevent further excessive slaughters by wolves? None.
“We are kind of in a bind right now because we don’t have any management authority of wolves,” Lund told County 10. “That is strictly the USFWS that has that authority. We manage the elk on the feedgrounds, but with wolves, we don’t have any management authority.”
Source: USA TODAY
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