Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) staff are considering lethal removal of a wolf or wolves from the Couse wolf pack in southeast Washington.
As of Sept. 19, WDFW staff have investigated five wolf depredation events in the Couse pack territory resulting in one dead calf, confirmed injuries on a cow and two calves, and probable injuries on another cow. These events occurred within a 10-month rolling window of time as described in the wolf-livestock interaction protocol.
On Oct. 13, WDFW staff investigated an injured calf that had been gathered and removed by the producer from an area of the pasture where the Couse pack and Tucannon pack territories overlap. Both packs were in the vicinity of the injured calf during the time frame when the injury likely occurred.
On Sept. 24, the WDFW Director authorized a lethal removal operation for the Couse pack which expired at midnight Oct. 8. WDFW did not remove a wolf from this pack territory under this authorization.
WDFW staff are discussing these depredations and the use of non-lethal measures in the Couse and Tucannon pack territories. Non-lethal deterrents in this case include:
- Daily to near-daily range riding
- Human presence
- Delayed turnout of calves until they were at least 200 pounds
- Removing sick and injured livestock
- Livestock carcass sanitation
Staff are assessing how to address this situation most effectively and will provide a recommendation to WDFW’s Director.
| Date | Depredation |
|---|---|
| 6/27/24 | Confirmed injury of 1 calf |
| 7/06/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf |
| 7/08/24 | Confirmed injury of 1 cow |
| 7/08/24 | Probable injury of 1 cow |
| 9/19/24 | Confirmed injury of 1 calf |