Over the weekend (August 11-12), WDFW staff deployed remote cameras in the Togo wolf pack area to help determine the number of wolves in the pack. They also set traps in the area in an effort to capture and radio-collar additional members of the pack.
WDFW Director Kelly Susewind said he wants as much information as possible on the developing situation before he considers further action.
There have been five confirmed depredations by the Togo pack in the last 10 months, as described in the August 11 update. In four of the five incidents, producers had used at least two pro-active preventive strategies to deter wolf predation as called for in the WDFW wolf-livestock interaction protocol. Livestock producers in the area are continuing to use non-lethal deterrents to help reduce the likelihood of further wolf depredations.
To date, the Department has documented at least two adult wolves in the pack. The pair produced an unknown number of pups this spring. WDFW staff captured an adult male on June 2, 2018, and fitted it with a GPS collar. The collar provides location data that has been shared with livestock producers and county officials. WDFW has also received reports of a third adult wolf with the pack, but has not confirmed its presence.
The Department will continue to closely monitor the situation in the Togo pack and work to collect more information on the pack’s composition and movements.