Wolfs on the clockum!!!!

[howlow]

I heard they captured two wolfs Sunday south of Wenatchee!  They also were eating a moo cow??

[BIGINNER]

 

[Bean Counter]

"One wolf"

....

"Two wolves"

[6x6in6]

Captured on trail camera.
Captured through a rifle scope during hazing.
Captured a photo while doing a necropsy on a dead cow.

Did you mean capture as in a trapper caught them?   

[jackelope]

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,121638.0.html
Confirmation of the Wenatchee pack thread.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,121656.0.html
1st wolf attack by the Wenatchee pack thread.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,121751.0.html
WDFW denies 1st attack by the Wenatchee pack, says they're not wolf kills thread.

[howlow]

I just heard.   I think it's in Spokane paper?

[jackelope]

I just heard.   I think it's in Spokane paper?

Its on the cover of the Wenatchee World.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

This is big time now!

[Boss .300 winmag]

the article from wenatchee world

Wolves didn’t kill cow, state says
By Michelle McNiel
World staff writer

Thursday, March 28, 2013

WENATCHEE — State wildlife experts have concluded that a pregnant cow found dead south of Wenatchee on Tuesday was not killed by a wolf.

However they are still worried about the two gray wolves that appear to be establishing territory on or near a cattle ranch in Pitcher Canyon.

“We’re just kind of on pins and needles hoping that this livestock operator doesn’t have any more issues with dead cows,” said Matt Monda, regional wildlife program manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Once wolves learn that livestock is a meal, then we will have to go in and take action.”

In extreme cases, the action may require killing wolves, which are protected under federal and state endangered species laws.

“But that’s a very volatile path to take,” he added.

Pictures of the wolves have been captured on remote camera feeding on elk carcasses on the ranch for the last week and a half, though wildlife experts also concluded that the wolves had not killed at least one of those elks.

Monda said if the wolves had just come across a dead elk, they could feed on it for a week or more. So the agency doesn’t know if the wolves are just lingering in the canyon right now because they’ve found dead animals to eat or whether they’ve established a territory that now includes the ranch.

“As long as they have something to eat, there’s no reason for them to go somewhere else,” he said.

State biologists and enforcement officers dissected the dead cow in Pitcher Canyon on Tuesday with the ranchers present. Monda said they did not find any puncture holes, crushing bruises or internal bleeding that are characteristic of wolves or other predators having killed an animal.

“Something did eat the cow, but all evidence indicated that it was fed upon after it died,” he said. “But there was no sign of a scuffle, no torn-up ground, no blood. There was absolutely no sign that it was killed by a predator of any kind.”

The agency hopes to trap one or both of the wolves this spring. Once the animals are outfitted with tracking collars, the agency can get a better idea of their territory and movement patterns.

Monda said the two closest wolf packs to Wenatchee — the Teanaway pack near Cle Elum and the Lookout pack in the Methow Valley — have very different territory patterns. The Teanaway pack tends to stay at lower elevations year round as it follows the deer and elk populations. The Lookout pack in the Methow Valley moves from lower, more populated elevations in the winter to higher, more backcountry locations in the summer, with the migration of the deer..

“So we don’t know if these (Wenatchee) wolves will move further and further away from Wenatchee as the summer progresses,” Monda said.

Pitcher Canyon is on the fringe of the Colockum elk habitat, “in an area where we would expect a wolf pack to do well,” he said.

Monda said the agency has no prediction on how large a pack could grow near Wenatchee. He said the Lookout pack to the north is “tenuous at best” with just two known wolves right now.

“They are just barely hanging on up there,” he said, adding that while the territory in North Central Washington is prime for wolves, “They aren’t taking off (in numbers) here like they have in other areas.”

The state agency had expected wolves to have established themselves more by now in the area between Wenatchee and the Methow Valley, he said.

If the two wolves spotted near Wenatchee are establishing a pack here, then Wenatchee would be the largest city in the state to have a wolf pack so close. However, many smaller communities do have wolves routinely nearby, including Winthrop and Twisp.

If the wolves hang around, Monda said the agency will make a “concerted effort” to educate people in the area about them.

The most likely interactions between people and wolves are either ranches or people who are hiking or working in wolf territory.

But Monda said it’s no different than the expectation that you might encounter a black bear, coyote, cougar or bobcat in the same areas.

“Is there any added risks with the wolves? I would say probably not,” he said.

Michelle McNiel: 664-7152

mcniel@wenatcheeworld.com

[Elkaholic daWg]

I just heard.   I think it's in Spokane paper?

Just read it. Thanks. Now to check out the WW story.2 free views left

[Curly]

“Is there any added risks with the wolves? I would say probably not,” he said.

What about the spread of hydatid disease?   

[zackmioli]

not good but knew it was only a matter of time.   

[NoImpactNoIdea]

Soon thread titles will be:

"Wolves in North Bend!!"

"Wolves in Snoqualmie!!"

"Wolves in Issaquah!!"

[palousehunter]

Last Elk Season we saw one Black Wolf by itself the second day

[howlow]

They need the wolves on the west side. And we will see what the do to take care of them.   For now it will push the remaining elk to the blues

[coachcw]

Soon thread titles will be:

"Wolves in North Bend!!"

"Wolves in Snoqualmie!!"

"Wolves in Issaquah!!"

What makes you think that there not there now ?

[GoPlayOutside]

Growing up hunting the Colockum...and still hunting the Colockum and all Wenatchee areas...I'm not officially saying that the crosshairs will or will not jump a bit if a wolf crosses them

[NoImpactNoIdea]

Soon thread titles will be:

"Wolves in North Bend!!"

"Wolves in Snoqualmie!!"

"Wolves in Issaquah!!"

What makes you think that there not there now ?

That lack of newspaper headlines!!


They may be but I dont think they are yet.  Give it a few months.

[rtspring]

 Gentlemen, they have been around there for years. Just not in the numbers we are hearing about and seeing these days, strap in and hold on tight. It will get worse in the days ahead

[coachcw]

things seem to take care of them selves , i'm sure a few yaks would like fur coats !

[Elkaholic daWg]

Gentlemen, they have been around there for years. Just not in the numbers we are hearing about and seeing these days, strap in and hold on tight. It will get worse in the days ahead

Growing up hunting the Colockum...and still hunting the Colockum and all Wenatchee areas...I'm not officially saying that the crosshairs will or will not jump a bit if a wolf crosses them

 Elk hunting late October 1988 For Corners, Swift creek, Whiskey Corner area, I had a black one scare the hell out of me as it darted out from under the low hanging branches of a tree as we both seemed to be on the same set of tracks with occasional blood spots in them. Now mind you I got money that says it was not of the same lineage of the ones showing up now.

[fishingnut71]

between coasties and wolfs were doomed.

[headshot5]

Just so you know, King County and Pierce County are not on the coast.     

[fishingnut71]

360 or 425, same thing. transplanting wolfs to western WA is a GREAT idea. Id even quit my day job to volunteer on that one.

[Curly]

Terrible idea.  Screw over wildlife, pets, livestock, and people on this side just because it is wrong to have so many wolves on the east side.  2 wrongs don't make a right.

[Elkaholic daWg]

Just so you know, King County and Pierce County are not on the coast.   

 Haven't spent much time in the NE huh? If its not landlocked then what is it?

[howlow]

they need the wolf population on the westside to control the blacktail and elk population and cats and dogs

[furiouzgeorge]

Not all west-siders are wolf lovers!!! Lets get this straight right now! We should build a high fence around Olympia AND Seattle and let them loose in there! The fence would serve two purposes! Keep the wolves AND the hipsters in!

[2labs]

between coasties and wolfs were doomed.

Careful how you use that coastle term!

[fishingnut71]

Just calling it the way I see it!!

[2labs]

Just calling it the way I see it!!

I feel for eastsiders. King county runs our state!!  I refuse to go to Seattle ever again. As a contractor I need products from lib town. Ship it. Ill pay the freight. Fishnut the area code is 206. That's the one to be concerned with!

[fishingnut71]

I agree 2labs. ALOT of 206ers come over east to recreate. Alot of the places I like to visit are over run with liberals and tree huggin nuts. Alot of people dont understand because they have lived their whole life in a rat race with people everywhere. I didnt. 206 pretty much calls the shots for the whole state and I take that a wee bit personal because it effects me, no matter what I do or say about it. We have wolves, windfarms and other stupid sh!t that makes WWA happy. We 509ers should share some of these hassels. So Yes, Wolfs in seattle is a good thing.

[whitey]

Soon thread titles will be:

"Wolves in North Bend!!"

"Wolves in Snoqualmie!!"

"Wolves in Issaquah!!"

What makes you think that there not there now ?

Exactly.
I was Mt biking above Index a few years ago and came across one standing in the trail. Big Freaking dogs forsure.
The next time I went up to that same trail head (Blanca Lake) there were signs posted by WDFW asking for Us to report seeing them.
They are here.
There has been reports of one milling about east of Gold Bar, which isnt to far from where I seen that one.