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Annual Wolf Report available online from
Idaho Fish and Game |
April 6, 2015 |
The 2014 annual summary of wolf monitoring in
Idaho is now available, and shows wolf numbers
remain well above the 150 wolves and 15 breeding
pairs required to keep gray wolves off the
endangered species list under the 2009
de-listing rule.
The 2014 Idaho Wolf Monitoring Progress Report
includes the current status of the wolf
population in Idaho. This is a very detailed
summary report, 70 pages in length, with
important and comprehensive information about
wolves in Idaho. The full report is available on
line at this Idaho Fish and Game web page:
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/wildlife/wolves/
Biologists documented 104 wolf packs in Idaho at
the end of 2014. In addition, there were 23
documented packs counted by Montana, Wyoming,
and Washington that had established territories
overlapping the Idaho state boundary. Not all
packs are presumed documented.
An estimated 770 wolves were associated with
documented packs of wolves in Idaho at the end
of 2014, well above 150 wolves required under
the 2009 delisting rule, yet below that of the
peak years of 2008 and 2009.
Determination of breeding pair status was made
for 43 packs. Of these, 26 packs met breeding
pair criteria at the end of 2014, and 17 packs
did not. No determination of breeding pair
status was made for the remaining 61 packs.
Wolf packs ranged from the Canadian border south
to the Snake River Plain, and from the
Washington and Oregon borders east to the
Montana and Wyoming borders. Dispersing wolves
were occasionally reported in previously
unoccupied areas.
Wolf harvest by hunters and trappers was lower
in 2014 compared to the prior year. Hunters and
trappers harvested 256 wolves in 2014, 100 fewer
than in 2013. Fewer total wolves were killed in
response to depredations on livestock and
predation on big game populations in 2014, with
67 wolves taken, 27 wolves less than during
2013.
Average pack size was 6.5 wolves at the end of
2014, higher than the 5.4 wolves in 2013, but
smaller than the 8.1 wolves per pack average
during the three years prior to the
establishment of harvest seasons in 2009.
Nineteen wolf deaths were attributed to other
human causes, and two to natural causes. The
causes of 16 wolf mortalities could not be
determined and were listed as unknown.
The number of cattle and sheep lost to wolf
depredation was below the average of the last 10
years, as was the number of wolves killed in
response to depredations. During 2014, 43
cattle, 103 sheep, three dogs and one horse were
confirmed as wolf kills. Ten cattle, 7 sheep,
and 1 dog were classified as probable wolf
depredations.
The Idaho progress report is available online
at:
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/wolves.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Northern
Rocky Mountain progress report, which includes
reports from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, is
available at:
http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/. |
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