Report Wolf Sightings Here - Hunting-Washington Wolf Count 158+

[hogsniper]

If this has already been said sorry for repeating  but wolves in the blues are a known fact.  They have documented individuals from the wenaha pack from oregon moving back and forth on a regular basis.  Great post and thanks for all the hard work bearpaw!       Justin

[rtspring]

Dale,
Don't know how far you want to go back but my father and I actaully took pictures of two wolves in the Little Naches 346 area off of the 1902 road in 1996. We came around a corner and this wolf was in the middle of the road. I got out a little throw away camera that we had and took several photos of the wolf. I think it was a male but not for sure, it was all black and was actually very cool looking. I think it was about a week later we again saw a wolf in roughly the same spot but this one was a light to darkish grey. Not one doubt in my mind that these were wolves. We never really showed anyone the pictures, But we did ask others in the area if they had seen any wolves. Turns out no one had seen them besides us that we know of. Now the bad part, in 1998 my parents house burnt to the ground completely and the pictures were inside so I have no proof.

I have hunted this are pretty much ever season since seeing these wolves and I go into places that I know not many do, but have not seen a track, heard a howl, or seen another one since then..

RTSPRING

[Special T]

418 Nooksack Near the town of Sedro Woolley Late buck hunt M rifle I think 06... Tired to look it up on WDFW but on their reporting tool it doesn't say when my last year of M Rifle was... Bull Elk were fighting and cows were chirping... After the bulls were done i bugled at the big 6x6 just for fun, then tried sneeking on him. All got very quite as the fog drifted. I took a shot at one of the 4 thinking it was a coyote.. Pissed that i missed i used my reed call to make a yelping sound... Then a real coyote, 1/3 the size and tan as opposed to grey, popped out at 20yrds from me.. I missed it too.. Got me thinking... The wolves were obviously following the sound of the fighting bulls and the chirping of cows... and the Coyote was following the wolves..

On a side note, I find it VERY distasteful that the Bio can Surmise that the wolves were hybrids. If he can tell from those pics then they should accept photo evidence... That statement by the bio fuels my distrust of the state on this issue.

[Swannytheswan]

my father in law and a co worker saw 2 in winthrop last sept.  while bowhunting if you want more details pm me and will get it for you.

[Earshot]

last year around Nov. 17 or 18th I was hunting with a buddy in east okanogan unit. walked in about a mile to a clearing on hull mt. before daylight. on the way in I noted a large number of coyote tracks and a couple large tracks that looked like a big dogs. At daybreak the coyotes started to bark and howl like I have never heard before. They were obviously very agitated and this went on for thirty minutes or more. My buddy was hunting about half a mile from where I was and he decided to move in on all the activity. when he got close he spotted three wolves circling each other the coyotes had them surrounded but at a distance and were harassing them. My buddy said he wasn't sure the three were wolves but they were two to three times the size of the coyotes and looked like large coyotes in color. we never reported this because we just aren't sure. I've seen many wolves in the wild in BC and Alberta but I didn't see these myself.

[bearpaw]

Thanks everyone for your additional reports, every single additional report helps substantiate wolves are in an area even if someone else may have already reported them.

The goal is to document as many sightings as we can, please keep them coming. In some cases it is hard to know if your report is of the same wolves that someone else has already spotted and I am trying to make a sincere effort to not double count any wolves. But every single report will add additional support that wolves have been spotted in a GMU.

THANKS TO EVERYONE....

[NWWABOWHNTR]

Might be the wrong place, but I broguth up wolves last night at the WDFW public meeting with the region 4 wildlife program manager.  Thought he'd cut me off and just say there are none in this region.  To my surprise he told me that yes they are there... specifically the Nooksack which I brought up.  He also said they are actively trying to trap and get DNA, or maybe I misunderstood, that they have trapped and gotten DNA.  He said he thinks they have migrated in from the north, which I agree with.  He asked my opinion on the wolf plan... 15 inutes later I was done with my concerns over "MANAGEMENT", and my feelings  that even if the WDFW comes up with a good management plan that the Conservation NW and other groups will use the courts to stop any valid management of the wolf in our State, most likely producing the devestation to our elk and deer herds that we have witnessed in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.  He nodded a lot and didn't seem surprised by my comments... When I brought up the pictures of the wolves I had sent in to the department in the past, he smiled and said yep.... I aksed him how many wolves we had in that area, and he was non-commital, just that they were actively working that issue.  I asked if they were close to declaring that a "breeding pair/pack" and he went into the whole what it takes to be a "breeding pair", of which I told him I was very familiar with.   I will say I was impressed with his honesty and willingness to discuss this topic, instead of what most of us have run into in the past on the wolf issue. 

[silverdalesauer]

Wow. That's a confirmation.

I'm impressed by the documentation listed here by so many hunters.

As a hunter from the Kitsap Peninsula, I am more and more convinced that we will soon be seeing wolves in the Olympics. I hunt in Eastern WA in the fall and have hunted & scouted in the Blues before, but never seen tracks. This fall I'll definitely be more observant and mindful to take pics of anything I see.

[Richard Calef]

I have had 3 sightings on our ranch. I assume that this is part of the Smackout Pack. The 1st was 8 July, 2nd on 10 August and the 3rd yesterday. All have appeared to be a large male less than 80 yards from the back of the ranch house on a small hill top in partially wooded area. Tracks found yesterady were quite large and the wolf appeared to be very healthy. He was obviously aware that I was present on the 10th August sighting and we just stood there eye balling each other for up to 2 minutes before he turned and trotted off. I have some concerns here as I have 5 labs on the ranch. Although they are fenced in close to the ranch house, I wonder about the howling back and forth between the labs and the wolves. A rancher some 4 miles down Hwy 20 reported to me a loss of a calf this spring. He initially thought this was a coyote kill. But now I wonder if maybe it was a wolf. The frequency of sightings appears to be increasing. Doc Rick Calef

[bearpaw]

this info from:
JKEEN33
Saw my first wolf in 204
« on: Yesterday at 09:09:48 PM »

Was out driving around before the opener and turned a corner just in time to bust its stalk. Had a doe about 30 feet away. It ran straight up the hill and out of sight faster than I have seen anything move. Ran into border patrol about 20 minutes later and they said they have been seeing them and hearing them for a while now.

[bearpaw]

I have had 3 sightings on our ranch. I assume that this is part of the Smackout Pack. The 1st was 8 July, 2nd on 10 August and the 3rd yesterday. All have appeared to be a large male less than 80 yards from the back of the ranch house on a small hill top in partially wooded area. Tracks found yesterady were quite large and the wolf appeared to be very healthy. He was obviously aware that I was present on the 10th August sighting and we just stood there eye balling each other for up to 2 minutes before he turned and trotted off. I have some concerns here as I have 5 labs on the ranch. Although they are fenced in close to the ranch house, I wonder about the howling back and forth between the labs and the wolves. A rancher some 4 miles down Hwy 20 reported to me a loss of a calf this spring. He initially thought this was a coyote kill. But now I wonder if maybe it was a wolf. The frequency of sightings appears to be increasing. Doc Rick Calef

Thanks for your post Doc.

We have been monitoring the Smackout pack for the last two winters. The tracks we have seen indicated 2 wolves preferred the Ione side and 4 to 5 wolves preferred the Smackout meadows and Paradise Road area in the winter months. Numerous other people have seen 1 or 2 wolves and there is at least 1 trailcam photo of a wolf a couple miles from Smackout Meadows. From what I have been told it sounds like the confirmed Smackout pack consists of likely two adults and 3 or more pups. This leaves numerous adults unaccounted for that I know are here somewhere. The way that wolves have been documented to travel it is very likely your wolves are part of the wolves that were around Smackout last winter.

You probably saw my post regarding my neighbor (on Dominion Loop Rd) who had 5 wolves attacking his German Shepherds in broad daylight. The neighbor was convinced that they were wolves and they were trying to kill his german shepherds so he ran for a gun which he fired in the air and stopped the attack. I have not seen that WDFW has made any public comment about the incident.
 
From the comments of ranchers in other states I would say the GMU 111 wolves are studying domestic animals for possible prey. Most ranchers report numerous sightings before an attack ever occurs because the wolves watch and learn about new prey before they attack. Then they begin making encounters which eventually leads to actual attacks. A wolf has been spotted this summer walking amoungst the cattle in Smackout Meadows.

[mulehunter]

Hunterfisher, thanks for post.  Cool capture pics.  Are you sure its Southwest of tonasket. wow its spread so fast in less two years. Hope WDFW start work on trap a wolf soon.  Very interesting....

Mulehunter.   

[vandeman17]

i have a trailcam pic of one in the teanaway from about 3 weeks ago. I posted it in another thread. 

[mulehunter]

i have a trailcam pic of one in the teanaway from about 3 weeks ago. I posted it in another thread. 

  did WDFW responsed your question. how many pups in her pack.

mulehunter

[bearpaw]

I heard through the grapevine that WDFW was in GMU 105 trying to trap wolves last week. Glad to hear this, last year there were pups sighted by many people around Northport in this unit, not sure where that pack is at right now, I did not see their tracks last winter, but I am told they are still there and I hope WDFW finds them, it is critical that these packs are confirmed. I also hope there is a plan to put more people on the payroll to get this done.