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i think you ment blewett pass(on US 97) bluet pass is by mt baker.
YAKIMA, Wash. — It seems that the Martinez family sheep-herding operation has already encountered the Teanaway wolfpack, and a sheep was killed. But here’s the interesting kicker: The wolves apparently weren’t the ones who killed the ewe.A cougar did.The wolves did, however, very nearly kill a border collie that was trying to keep them away from the sheep’s carcass.According to Mark Martinez, who oversees the northernmost grazing allotments of the Moxee-based Martinez sheep operation, this incident happened on Tuesday, Aug. 23, on a piece of private land that Martinez sheep have been grazing off and on since the 1940s.The sheep were grazing in an area west of State Highway 97 just off Forest Road 9738, near a rise known as Red Top. The night before had been windy, apparently enough so that when the ewe was killed, the herder overseeing that band of sheep didn’t hear it and didn’t see the attack. Neither, apparently, did the Pyrenees guard dogs that are trained to protect the sheep from predators.On that Tuesday, though, one of the herder’s Pyrenees guard dogs was watching over the carcass when four wolves — probably attracted by the scent of the kill — showed up and forced the dog away from its post. The noise of the confrontation brought one or more of the border collies, which then tried to chase the wolves away. The ruckus also brought the herder.“The herder saw four wolves. One had a collar,” Martinez said.(A note: State wildlife officers had captured and radio-collared the pack’s dominant female a month earlier.)“(The herder) was pretty shook up,” Martinez said. “Even after the warning shot (the wolves) didn’t just disappear into the woods. They were kind of hesitant.”The wolves were finally chased away, but not before badly injuring one of the border collies — badly enough, Martinez said, that the veterinarian told him if one of the bite wounds had been even a 16th-inch to one direction, the dog would have suffered excessive hemorrhaging and died.State wildlife agents came to the site the next day and determined the ewe had been killed by a cougar, and Martinez said the state also offered to pick up the tab for the vet bill. But while the grazing season is almost over, Martinez is concerned his family’s sheep operation is in for a lot more troubles down the line.“I’m hoping we don’t lose any stock,” Martinez said. “But that’s never the case when you’re out in the woods and there’s all sorts of wildlife that, once they acquire a taste for lamb or sheep, they’ve found a food source.“And they’re going to continue to utilize that food source.”– Scott Sandsberry
Quote from: BIGINNER on September 12, 2011, 03:26:39 PMi think you ment blewett pass(on US 97) bluet pass is by mt baker.Now this is really funny. Sorry to threadjack, but I can't help myself. Bigginner correcting someone elses spelling just has me laughing........
