This is a weekly update for the Togo pack following the lethal removal authorization by WDFW Director Kelly Susewind on Aug 9.
No wolves have been removed by WDFW since the authorization. The Department's lethal removal period is currently ongoing. There have been three additional depredations investigated and confirmed by the Togo pack in the last week.
On Aug 11, WDFW staff received a report of three possible wolf depredations to livestock within the Togo pack area in Ferry County. WDFW staff conducted investigations on one deceased calf and two injured calves.
- Calf #1 was deceased and showed injuries consistent with a wolf attack. The calf had been deceased no longer than a few hours prior to discovery.
- Calf #2 was injured with bite wounds to the hamstring, flank, hock and hindquarters. All of the injuries are consistent with a wolf attack. The injuries to the calf appeared to be no less than a week old. The calf was treated and held on private ground for a later release back onto the USFS grazing pasture.
- Calf #3 was injured with bite wounds to the hindquarter and groin area. All of the injuries are consistent with a wolf attack. The injuries to the calf appeared to be 3 to4 days old. The calf is being kept in a private holding area for a later release back onto the USFS grazing pasture.
On Aug 9, WDFW Director Kelly Susewind reauthorized the lethal removal of the two remaining wolves from the Togo pack in response to repeated depredation of cattle on grazing lands in the Kettle River range of Ferry County under the guidance of the state's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan and the lethal removal provisions of the department's wolf-livestock interaction protocol (PDF). This is the third time (Aug 20, 2018, Nov 7, 2018, and Aug 9, 2019) Director Susewind has authorized lethal removal in the Togo pack since the pattern of depredations started on November 2, 2017. The Department removed one wolf on Sept 2, 2018 under a previous authorization.
Livestock producer 1 referenced in the Aug 9 public notice is the owner of the three calves investigated on Aug 11. Livestock producer 1 removes or secures livestock carcasses to avoid attracting wolves to the rest of the herd, calves away from areas occupied by wolves, avoids known wolf high activity areas, and monitors the herd with a range rider. A WDFW-contracted range rider has been working with this producer since May.
The Department has documented six wolf depredations by the Togo pack in the last 30 days, seven in the last 10 months, and 14 since Nov 2017. During one of those depredations, a livestock producer shot a wolf during a caught-in-the-act scenario where the producer responded to a wolf depredating his livestock. Depredation activity and agency wolf removals are summarized in each monthly wolf update.
WDFW will keep the public informed about this activity through weekly updates. The next update will be on Aug. 23.
Previous updates
2019 Togo pack updates
- July 31, 2019
- Aug 9, 2019
WDFW will provide a final report on this and any other lethal removal operations during 2019 in the Washington Gray Wolf Conservation and Management 2019 Annual Report, which will be published during spring 2020. For a summary of removal operations in the Togo pack during 2018, please see page 28 of the Washington Gray Wolf Conservation and Management 2018 Annual Report.