This update provides an overview of gray wolf conservation and management activities in Washington during November 2021.
Program updates and coordination
On November 19, the Wolf Committee of the Fish and Wildlife Commission will be briefed by a team from the University of Washington on the status of the modeling tool that will be used by WDFW to make a recommendation for the Periodic Status Review for gray wolves. Information about the upcoming meeting will be posted at https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/meetings#upcoming.
Outreach and education
October 17–23, 2021 was National Wolf Awareness Week in the U.S.: seven days dedicated to understanding wolves and their place in the ecosystem. For Wolf Awareness Week, WDFW put together a recommended reading list to help people of all ages learn about the species. WDFW staff also developed a new lesson for middle school learners in which they join wolf biologist and master tracker Gabe Spence in his work tracking wolves. Check out the wolf tracking lesson here.
Current population status and proactive conflict mitigation
The year-end minimum population count for 2020 was at least 132 known wolves in 24 known packs including at least 13 breeding pairs. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation reported 46 wolves in five packs. Annual wolf population surveys are conducted in the winter because wolf populations experience the least amount of natural fluctuation during this time. Counting the population at the end of each year allows for comparable year-to-year trends at a time of year when the wolf population is most stable. The year-end minimum population count for 2021 will be released in April 2022.
Reports of remote camera images or videos, wolf tracks, or sightings from the public are extremely helpful in locating previously undocumented wolf activity and potential new packs on the landscape. Please take photos of wolves or wolf sign (use some way to measure the size of a track) and upload them to the wolf reporting page via the following link: https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/at-risk/species-recovery/gray-wolf/observations
Definitions: A “pack” is defined as two or more wolves traveling together in winter, and a “breeding pair” is defined as at least one adult male and one adult female wolf that raised at least two pups that survived until December 31. In any given year, the number of packs will always be greater than or equal to the number of breeding pairs. The known territories and more information for each pack can be viewed by clicking the pack name.
Beaver Creek pack
No activity to report.
Butte Creek pack
No activity to report.
Carpenter Ridge pack
No activity to report.
Diobsud Creek pack
No activity to report.
Dirty Shirt pack
No activity to report.
Goodman Meadows pack
No activity to report.
Grouse Flats pack
No activity to report.
Huckleberry pack
No activity to report.
Kettle pack
No activity to report.
Leadpoint pack
No activity to report.
Lookout pack
No activity to report.
Loup Loup pack
No activity to report.
Naneum pack
Cattle are still in the pack territory and no conflicts have been reported.
Navarre pack
WDFW staff placed trail cameras in the pack territory for monitoring numbers in this pack.
Onion Creek pack
No activity to report.
Salmo pack
No activity to report.
Sherman pack
No activity to report.
Skookum pack
No activity to report.
Smackout pack
No activity to report.
Stranger pack
No activity to report.
Strawberry pack
No activity to report.
Sullivan Creek pack
No activity to report.
Teanaway pack
WDFW staff placed trail cameras in the pack territory for monitoring numbers in this pack. An injured calf was discovered and removed from the pack territory. An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the livestock injuries.
Togo pack
No activity to report.
Touchet pack
No activity to report.
Tucannon pack
No activity to report.
Vulcan pack
No activity to report.
Wedge pack
No activity to report.
Miscellaneous/lone wolves
WDFW staff investigated and confirmed additional depredations by wolves in the area of new wolf activity in Columbia County on Oct. 16 (a confirmed injury of a calf) and Nov. 1 (a confirmed injury of one calf and probable injury of two calves). The details of those events are as follows:
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On October 16, WDFW staff investigated an injured calf in Columbia County that had been picked up by the livestock producer. Staff documented cuts and puncture wounds as well as a large laceration on the underside of the calf and an open wound on the flank with swelling associated with underlying hemorrhaging. Based on attack signatures, presence of bite and puncture wounds with associated hemorrhaging, available telemetry data, and sightings by producers in the immediate area, staff determined the incident was a confirmed wolf depredation.
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On November 1, WDFW staff investigated four injured calves pulled off the range from a private grazing pasture in Columbia County. The livestock producer was sorting calves at their home place when the producer discovered the injuries. Cattle would normally stay on the pasture until the end of November or early December, but the livestock producer gathered cattle early to move them off the pasture due to persistent wolf activity. Based on the evidence associated with each individual calf (wounds with associated swelling, bite lacerations, the location of the injuries, previously documented injuries and mortalities in the same pasture area, and wolf sighting information from the pasture area), one of the injured calves was classified as a confirmed wolf depredation, two were classified as probable wolf depredations, and the cause of the remaining calf’s injuries could not be determined. The estimated age of injuries is approximately three to seven weeks old based on healing/scarring.
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An additional update about livestock depredations in the area of new wolf activity in Columbia County was posted on Nov. 2, 2021.
In response to a public observation report, WDFW wolf biologists placed cameras in an area south of Stampede Pass, a mountain pass through the Cascade Range southeast of Seattle and east of Tacoma.
Biologists continue to monitor trail cameras and search for tracks and sign of wolves in areas of public observation reports in the South Cascades and Skagit and Whatcom counties.
Note: The Frosty, Nason, Nc’icn, and Whitestone pack territories are within Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CTCR) lands and are managed under tribal authority. Information regarding these packs is proprietary and reported at the discretion of the CTCR.
Mortalities
No wolf mortalities were documented in October. As of this update, WDFW has documented three wolf mortalities in 2021.
Depredation activity
Please report any suspected livestock depredations or the death or harassment of wolves to the WDFW Enforcement Hotline at 1-877-933-9847.
In 2020, 76% of known wolf packs were not involved in any documented livestock depredation.
Below is a summary of packs with documented depredation activity within the past ten months (some packs have depredation history prior to the current ten-month window; this timeframe is considered based on guidance from the wolf-livestock interaction protocol (PDF)).
|
Pack |
Depredation date |
Depredation type |
Proactive non-lethals |
Ten-month window |
Agency lethal removal actions |
|
Beaver Creek |
9/5/21 |
Probable mortality of calf |
No |
7/5/22 |
|
|
Leadpoint |
3/26/21 |
Probable injury of calf |
Yes |
1/26/22 |
|
|
|
7/22/21 |
Confirmed mortality of one calf (died from injuries), confirmed injury of second calf |
Yes |
5/22/22 |
|
|
Naneum |
5/7/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
3/7/22 |
|
|
Smackout |
8/30/21 |
Probable injury of two calves |
Yes |
6/30/22 |
|
|
Togo |
6/24/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
4/24/22 |
|
|
|
8/6/21 |
Confirmed mortality of calf (died from injuries) |
Yes |
6/6/22 |
|
|
|
8/17/21 |
Probable injury of calf |
Yes |
6/17/22 |
|
|
|
8/17/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
6/17/22 |
|
|
Touchet |
1/16/21 |
Probable kill of calf |
No |
11/16/21 |
|
|
|
8/10/21 |
Confirmed mortality of calf |
Yes |
6/10/22 |
|
|
Area of new wolf activity north of Touchet pack and west of Tucannon pack (Columbia County) |
8/25/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
6/25/22 |
|
|
|
9/13/21 |
Confirmed mortality of calf |
Yes |
7/13/22 |
|
|
|
10/16/21 |
Confirmed injury of calf |
Yes |
8/16/22 |
|
|
|
11/1/21 |
Confirmed injury of one calf, probable injury of two calves |
Yes |
9/1/22 |
|