19 wolves killed in 3 days
Cattle-killing pack that totaled 27 wiped out
The Daily Inter Lake
The remainder of the Hog Heaven wolf pack - 19 animals - was killed this week after repeated livestock depredations west and southwest of Kalispell.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services shot the 19 wolves over three days: two on Wednesday, eight on Thursday and nine on Friday.
The wolves were in the Browns Meadow and Niarada areas " the wolf pack's home range. Earlier this year, another eight wolves from the pack were removed.
That brings to 27 the total number of Hog Heaven wolves killed. It is likely that the pack produced two litters this year, contributing to the large pack size, according to Jim Williams, regional wildlife manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Williams noted that larger packs are more prone to livestock conflicts.
The decision to eliminate the pack was approved jointly by Wildlife Services and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks after interim steps failed to end attacks on cattle.
Over the last few months, the pack was involved in eight separate incidents of depredation on livestock. In the latest incident on Nov. 18, the pack killed a 2-year-old bull."
Hog Heaven wolves also were believed to be responsible for killing three llamas on Aug. 6, a calf on Sept. 16, two breeding-stock heifers on Sept. 23, a calf on Sept. 25 and another calf on Oct. 8.
"FWP takes livestock depredation by wolves seriously," Williams said. "In this case there was a chronic problem of cattle depredation. We took a number of interim steps where we removed some wolves prior to making the decision to remove the entire pack, but it didn't end the problem.""
Williams noted that officials considered nonlethal means early in the process to deter further depredations." But they concluded that there were no nonlethal methods that would be effective. For example, relocation of wolves in Northwest Montana is not an option for a wide-ranging animal such as the wolf, especially in light of the number of wolves currently on the landscape.
In one of the interim steps in October, a young male wolf was killed by Wildlife Services west of Browns Meadow. That wolf was removed after the Hog Heaven Pack killed two domestic calves in the Browns Meadow area about 15 miles southwest of Kalispell.
On Oct. 28, two wolves were lethally removed from the Hog Heaven Pack in response to a livestock depredation earlier in the month. These wolves were killed about eight miles west of Niarada. At that point, a total of eight wolves had been removed from this pack."
Biological and genetic samples will be taken from the carcasses and sent to the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Lab in Bozeman. As much as possible, the skulls and hides will be used for educational purposes.""