Gray Wolf Conservation and Management

Frequently Asked Questions About Wolves in Washington

• Why do we want wolves in Washington?
• Won’t wolves eat too many elk and deer?
• How do we keep wolves from eating livestock?
• Do wolves have tapeworms that can spread to other animals and people?
• Were wolves ever reintroduced to Washington?
• Aren’t the wolves that were reintroduced in other places non-native or different from earlier wolves?
• How many wolf packs are in Washington?
• What land use restrictions come with wolves?
• I think I saw a wolf, but how do I know for sure?
• I know I saw a wolf, so where do I report it?
• Do wolves attack people?
• Do wolves attack dogs?
• Will Washington have a hunting season on wolves someday?
• How much will wolf management cost?
• What is Washington’s wolf conservation and management plan
• What role does the federal government have in Washington’s wolf plan?

Why do we want wolves in Washington?

Wolves are a part of Washington’s wildlife heritage and were formerly found throughout the state. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is responsible, by legislative mandate, to preserve, protect and perpetuate all of the native wildlife of the state. As a top predator, wolves naturally help keep wild ungulate (elk, deer, moose) populations in balance with available habitat. As with other predators, such as cougars, bears, and coyotes, wolf-prey balances are maintained over time, with highs and lows in populations of both.

Won’t wolves eat too many elk and deer?

Elk populations in other states (ID, MT, WY) with wolves have mostly remained stable, although some have declined in areas where wolves are one of several factors affecting numbers. Idaho Department of Fish and Game recently reported (August 2010) that elk populations are at or above management objectives in 23 of the state’s 29 elk management zones. A large five-year study of over 500 tagged cow elk in 11 management zones in that state found that hunter harvest was the leading cause of elk deaths in six zones and greatly outweighed wolf predation overall, which was significant in four zones. In the worst case (Lolo zone), deteriorating habitat and other factors contributed to the elk population declining by half from 1988 to 1998; after the arrival of wolves in 1998, the population dropped by another 70 percent. For the full report, see http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/news/fg_news/. Wolves can cause elk to spend more time in heavily forested areas, on steeper slopes, and at higher elevations than they did before wolves were present. These changes in behavior can contribute to the misimpression among some hunters that wolves have caused broad decreases in elk numbers. Wolf-caused declines in deer populations have not been reported in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

How do we keep wolves from eating livestock?

Some wolves in some areas have learned that livestock can be easy prey. Proactive measures can be taken to help protect livestock (guarding and herding animals, range riders, wolf-targeted fencing, night penning, livestock carcass removal, etc.). These tools often temporarily succeed in reducing the vulnerability of livestock to wolf depredation, especially when used in combination, but are not usually considered permanent solutions by themselves. Under the draft wolf conservation and management plan, such measures are encouraged with state technical assistance, along with allowances for non-lethal harassment and even lethal control of wolves that cause problems for livestock producers. While wolves are re-establishing in Washington, compensation is available for livestock losses from wolf depredation.

Overall, confirmed wolf depredation on livestock in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming is low compared to losses from other predators like coyotes, weather, and disease, but impacts to individual livestock producers can be significant.

Do wolves have tapeworms that can spread to other animals and people?

The Echinoccus granulosus tapeworm is found almost worldwide in canids, including wolves, dogs, coyotes, and foxes. The eggs of this tapeworm are spread in canid feces. Wild and domestic ungulates (deer, elk, moose, sheep, goats, swine, etc.) are the normal intermediate hosts, carrying a cyst form in their organs. When canids (including dogs) feed on these infected organs, they become tapeworm hosts. (For life-cycle information, see http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/DPDx/html/Echinococcosis.htm. )

Humans are very rarely infected. Humans would have to ingest tapeworm eggs in canid feces or drink water contaminated with canid feces. It is extremely unlikely to be spread by handling ungulate capes or meat, unless those parts are contaminated with canid feces and handlers do not use good basic hygiene. Likewise, if a pet dog rolled in feces infected with tapeworm eggs, good hygiene is required after handling the dog. Humans cannot be infected by ingesting cysts found in ungulates. These parasitic tapeworms are not wind-born nor transmitted in any way other than direct ingestion of eggs in feces.

The Echinococcus parasite had not been recently documented in wildlife in Idaho until it was detected in some wild ungulates in 2006. After the finding was reported at a Wildlife Disease Association meeting, further study found it in wolves in Idaho and Montana and a paper on the findings was published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases in October 2009. (Wildlife Disease Association Meeting Abstract at http://www.wildlifedisease.org/meetings.htm  Connecticut meeting link, abstract #94; Journal of Wildlife Diseases Abstract at http://www.jwildlifedis.org/cgi/content/abstract/45/4/1208 )

The researchers do not know whether the parasite was introduced with the importation of wolves from Canada, or whether the parasite has always been present in other hosts, and wolves became a new definitive host. Ungulates in the Northwest have been documented with this parasite in the past. Such parasites are usually not fatal to hosts at any life cycle stage, but can diminish overall health.

All parasites or diseases harbored by any wildlife should be taken seriously and good hygiene used when handling live wild animals, dead wild animals, their secretions, or their products.

Were wolves ever re-introduced to Washington?

No. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has never reintroduced or transplanted wolves from other states or provinces into Washington, nor has any other state or federal authority. There are no plans to ever do this. There is no reason to bring wolves into Washington because they are returning naturally from dispersing populations in nearby states and provinces.

Aren’t the wolves that were re-introduced in other places non-native or different from earlier wolves?

No. The belief that the wolves reintroduced in the mid-1990s to Idaho and Yellowstone National Park from west-central Alberta and east-central British Columbia differed (being larger and more aggressive) from the wolves that originally occurred in the northern Rocky Mountain states is erroneous for several reasons.

First, wolves from the Canadian and northern U.S. Rockies, interior British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and nearly all of Alaska are closely related and belong to a single subspecies known as Canis lupus occidentalis. This conclusion is based on the examination of historical and recent wolf specimens collected throughout North America. Those originating from the region described above have proven to be genetically and morphologically similar. Examples of this are seen in the wolves harvested during the 2009 hunting seasons in Montana and Idaho. Adults from Montana weighed an average of 97 lbs with a maximum of 117 lbs, whereas adults from Idaho weighed an average of 101 lbs with a maximum of about 130 lbs. These weights are similar to the sizes of the wolves that occurred in these states in the 1800s and early 1900s.

Second, wolves are well known for their ability to disperse long distances from their birth sites. Radio-tracking data show that wolves from southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta mix both with wolves from Idaho and Montana, and with wolves from farther north near the source locations of the animals used in the Idaho and Yellowstone reintroductions. When combined with recent research that reveals considerable genetic mixing among wolf populations in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, this information shows that wolves form a single population across the Rocky Mountains of the northern U.S. and southern Canada.

Third, recent genetic research involving hundreds of wolves sampled from Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming in the 1990s and 2000s found no evidence that the remnant native population of wolves that differed from the reintroduced wolves. Thus, the wolves present in these states before wolf recovery began were genetically similar to those used in the reintroductions.

How many wolf packs are in Washington?

There are five resident wolf packs that have been fully documented in Washington since 2008 – the Lookout Pack in Okanogan County, the Diamond and Salmo packs in Pend Oreille County, the Teanaway pack in Kittitas County, and the Smackout Pack in Stevens County. These packs have been documented by capturing at least one wolf in each pack and either equipping it with a radio telemetry collar to monitor movements, or ear-tagging young animals for identification. When wolves are captured, hair or tissue samples are taken for DNA testing to learn their relationship with other wolves in the west and sometimes to confirm the animals are pure wild wolves (and not wolf-dog hybrids).  Captured animals are always released in the area of capture.

Additional unconfirmed packs may also exist in the Blue Mountains, North Cascades, and other parts of the state.  At least a few solitary wolves also likely occur in other scattered locations of the state. The total estimated number of adult and yearling wolves in the state in July 2011 is 25 - 30. Pup production in 2011 has not yet been determined.

What land use restrictions come with wolves?

None, other than protecting active den sites from disturbance during the denning period. Wolves are habitat “generalists”, meaning they can adapt to living in many kinds of habitat. Wolves basically need two things to thrive: 1) prey and 2) human tolerance. Wolf den sites, where pups are born, are protected by law from disturbance when occupied, just like songbird nests. But land use restrictions, as have been used to protect other endangered species that depend on specific habitat, are not necessary for wolves. These types of restrictions have never been implemented in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to protect wolves, and there are no plans to do so in Washington.

I think I saw a wolf, but how do I know for sure?

Wild wolves are an endangered species and there are very few in Washington. They generally stay away from people, so seeing one is rare. Coyotes are the wildlife species most similar to wolves, so some of the best clues for identifying an animal are in the wolf-coyote comparison illustration. Coyotes are often seen because they are abundant throughout Washington and can be somewhat bold. One of the greatest differences between the two species is size, sometimes difficult to estimate at a distance outdoors. Large dogs and wolf-dog hybrids can also be mistaken for wolves, although they usually act more familiar with people. Wolf-dog hybrids can be unpredictable and aggressive, and some have been released into the wild, living like feral dogs. Distinctions between these hybrids and wild wolves can sometimes only be made by DNA testing.

I know I saw a wolf, so where do I report it?

WDFW and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service keep track of wolf sightings and other evidence of wolves in Washington (tracks, scat, howling, photos from motion-sensitive remote cameras). The best way to make a report is through WDFW's Online Wolf Reporting Form or via the toll-free wildlife reporting hotline, 1-877-933-9847.

Do wolves attack people?

Very rarely. Wild wolves generally fear and avoid people, rarely posing a threat to human safety. In the past 60 years, there have been two wolf-caused human fatalities in North America (Canada and Alaska). Two broad summaries published in 2002 documented 28 reports of wolf aggression towards humans in North America from 1969 to 2001. Nineteen of these involved wolves habituated to people and 5 involved people accompanied by domestic dogs. There have been no physical attacks on people by wolves in Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming from the time wolf recovery began in the 1980s until the present. Wolves can become habituated to humans in areas where they regularly encounter humans or human food. To avoid habituation, wolves should never be fed or approached.

Do wolves attack dogs?

Yes. The gray wolf is the ancestor of domestic dogs. Wolves view dogs as competitors or territorial intruders and have attacked and killed them, especially in remote areas. Owners of dogs need to be aware of the potential risk to their dogs if they are in wolf habitat, especially when guarding or herding livestock, hunting, accompanying hikers, or running at large. Tips on protecting dogs in wolf country are provided in the draft wolf plan.

Will Washington have a hunting season on wolves someday?

Maybe. Under the wolf plan, wolves would be delisted after 15 successful breeding pairs are distributed over much of the state and sustained for at least three years. After delisting, a separate public process to re-classify wolves as a game species would have to be undertaken before hunting seasons and rules could be proposed.

How much will wolf management cost?

Preliminary cost estimates for high priority activities such as monitoring and research, management of wolf-livestock conflicts (including compensation for losses), protection of wolf populations, and public outreach and education total about $380,000 annually over the next six years. As with other wildlife management, the state will collaborate with federal and private partners to share costs. Cost estimates are presented in greater detail in the wolf plan.

What is Washington’s wolf conservation and management plan?

On December 3, 2011, after nearly five years of development and extensive public review, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously adopted a plan that guides state conservation and management of gray wolves in Washington. Key provisions of the plan establish recovery objectives for wolves in three regions of the state, along with procedures for addressing predation on livestock and impacts on ungulates such as deer, elk, and caribou. WDFW began developing the wolf plan in 2007, anticipating that wolves would naturally migrate into the state from Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. The plan was developed with the assistance of a 17-member advisory citizen Wolf Working Group, and was the focus of 23 public meetings, written comments submitted by nearly 65,000 people, and a blind scientific peer review.

Key elements of the plan include:

• Recovery goals: The plan establishes a delisting objective of 15 breeding pairs of wolves that are present in the state for at least three years, with at least four in Eastern Washington, four in the northern Cascades, four in the southern Cascades/Northwest coastal area, and three others anywhere in the state. The plan also provides for WDFW to consider initiating the delisting process if 18 breeding pairs are documented during a single year, and the distribution objectives are met.
• Livestock protection: The plan provides a variety of nonlethal and lethal management measures - from technical assistance for landowners to lethal removal - to control wolves that prey on livestock. The plan also establishes conditions for compensating ranchers who lose livestock to wolf predation.
• Wildlife protection: The plan allows WDFW to use lethal and non-lethal measures to manage wolf predation on at-risk ungulate populations if wolf numbers reach or exceed the recovery objective within a region where predation occurs.

The final plan, incorporating modifications adopted by the commission, will be posted on this webpage by mid-January 2012.  For more information, see: Wolf Plan Development Process and Archive

What role does the federal government have in Washington’s wolf plan?

Wolves remain federally listed as endangered in the western two-thirds of Washington and are federally delisted in the eastern third of the state. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is the lead management authority over wolves in the western two-thirds of the state and WDFW is the lead in the eastern third of the state. The USFWS did not ask or require that WDFW develop a wolf conservation and management plan for Washington. Instead, WDFW initiated preparation of the plan in anticipation of wolves becoming federally delisted in part or all of the state, which would result in the transfer of management responsibility for the species to WDFW. Funding for development of the plan came from federal wildlife grants administered by the USFWS, which WDFW may spend as it wishes on high priority species and projects. In 2010, WDFW also received $15,000 from the USFWS that was part of a larger grant to help western states establish proactive programs to reduce and prevent wolf conflicts with livestock, and compensation programs for wolf depredation losses.