State wolf population nearly doubles in 1 year
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - The number of gray wolves in Washington nearly doubled in the past year, according to a new survey released Friday by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The survey found at least 51 wolves in nine packs in Washington state, including five successful breeding pairs. The 2011 study documented just 27 wolves, five wolf packs and three breeding pairs.
Wildlife wolf program director Nate Pamplin said the actual number of wolves is likely much higher, since lone wolves often go uncounted and those that roam Washington but do not den here are not included in the survey. Biologists already suspect there are two additional wolf packs in the state.
Using estimates of the average pack size in other western states, Pamplin said there could easily be as many as 100 wolves in Washington
"The survey shows that our state's wolf population is growing quickly," Pamplin said in a press release. "That growth appears to be the result of both natural reproduction and the continuing in-migration of wolves from Canada and neighboring states."
The recovery of wolves in Washington state is a heated topic. While many environmental groups hail the development, advocates for ranchers blame wolves for killing livestock. Several bills intended to improve wolf management are pending in the Legislature, including a tongue-in-cheek proposal to import wolves from rural parts of Eastern Washington to populous Western Washington.
A wolf pack is defined as two or more wolves traveling together. A successful breeding pair is defined as an adult male and female with at least two pups that survive until the end of the calendar year.
One of the nine packs represented in the survey is the infamous Wedge pack, which now has two confirmed members in northeastern Washington. Last summer, the Department of Fish and Wildlife killed most members of that pack to end a series of attacks on an area rancher's cattle that left at least six calves dead and 10 other animals injured.
Pamplin said biologists do not know whether the two wolves living near the Canadian border in Stevens County are members of the original Wedge pack or whether they are new arrivals from inside or outside the state.
"Either way, we were confident that wolves would repopulate that area," he said. "We really hope to prevent the kind of situation we faced with the Wedge pack last summer by working with ranchers to use non-lethal methods to protect their livestock."
The gray wolf is listed by the state as an endangered species throughout Washington and is federally listed as endangered in the western two-thirds of the state. Once common, wolves were eliminated in most western states during the past century because they preyed on livestock.
Under the state's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, wolves can be removed from the state's endangered species list once 15 successful breeding pairs are documented for three consecutive years among three designated wolf-recovery regions.
The survey found at least 51 wolves in nine packs in Washington state, including five successful breeding pairs. The 2011 study documented just 27 wolves, five wolf packs and three breeding pairs.
Wildlife wolf program director Nate Pamplin said the actual number of wolves is likely much higher, since lone wolves often go uncounted and those that roam Washington but do not den here are not included in the survey. Biologists already suspect there are two additional wolf packs in the state.
Using estimates of the average pack size in other western states, Pamplin said there could easily be as many as 100 wolves in Washington
"The survey shows that our state's wolf population is growing quickly," Pamplin said in a press release. "That growth appears to be the result of both natural reproduction and the continuing in-migration of wolves from Canada and neighboring states."
The recovery of wolves in Washington state is a heated topic. While many environmental groups hail the development, advocates for ranchers blame wolves for killing livestock. Several bills intended to improve wolf management are pending in the Legislature, including a tongue-in-cheek proposal to import wolves from rural parts of Eastern Washington to populous Western Washington.
A wolf pack is defined as two or more wolves traveling together. A successful breeding pair is defined as an adult male and female with at least two pups that survive until the end of the calendar year.
One of the nine packs represented in the survey is the infamous Wedge pack, which now has two confirmed members in northeastern Washington. Last summer, the Department of Fish and Wildlife killed most members of that pack to end a series of attacks on an area rancher's cattle that left at least six calves dead and 10 other animals injured.
Pamplin said biologists do not know whether the two wolves living near the Canadian border in Stevens County are members of the original Wedge pack or whether they are new arrivals from inside or outside the state.
"Either way, we were confident that wolves would repopulate that area," he said. "We really hope to prevent the kind of situation we faced with the Wedge pack last summer by working with ranchers to use non-lethal methods to protect their livestock."
The gray wolf is listed by the state as an endangered species throughout Washington and is federally listed as endangered in the western two-thirds of the state. Once common, wolves were eliminated in most western states during the past century because they preyed on livestock.
Under the state's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, wolves can be removed from the state's endangered species list once 15 successful breeding pairs are documented for three consecutive years among three designated wolf-recovery regions.
this is great news. Wolves will keep the elk and deer in check in WA just like they are doing in Montana and Idaho. Very good news.
@rick6565Â Your still an Idiot!
May take care of stray dogs, cats and kids.
Ranchers know the rule for dealing with wolves killing livestock--shoot, shovel, and shut up. They know who the real enemy is
Edit...
Sorry, I can't. Thanks KOMO.
'A wolf pack is defined as two or more wolves traveling together'.
Two? TWO? 2 wolves is a pack???
What's next? 2 horses are a herd? 2 fish are a school? 2 birds are a flock?
Kill 'em! KILL 'EM ALL! Swine flu? KILL 'em ALL! Bird flu? KILL 'em all. KILL, KILL... folks that spread HIV? Hmmm...
Sorry if that reads a tad dramatic, but it's what y'all are espousing. Most of you have NO concept of nature or the way it works. Most of you appear to have any concept of personal choice and what it entails. You just want someone else to save you from yer poor decisions and protect the lifestyle you've chosen.
Boo hoo.
All they talk about is the wolves killing cattle but they are decimating the wild ungulates. Wolves provide no benefits at all. We cannot unring the bell. There is not enough habitat to support packs of wolves without them killing most of the deer and elk. Also far too much of the limited wildlife budgets are wasted mitigating the damage done by wolves.
@Goodwin they provide plenty of benefits you ignorant POS. They keep the elk and deer in check. This is a very big benefit.
Two wrongs don't make a right. The ecosystems have achieved a balance without them and now introducing them will cause significant issues. There is no shortage of these animals since there are over 50,000 of them already. But if they must have them they should introduce them where the greatest number of people can enjoy them. Greenlake would be an excellent place for a wolf pack. People could sit and watch them and listen to them howl at night.
@SeattleJoe Eastern WA has an overpopulated elk and deer population and the wolves will thin them out.
@SeattleJoe  Greenlake sounds good, but I'd also like to see them on Orcas Is. with Sen. Ranker that loves those predators, so much. Must not forget Olympia, as well. In Olympia, the human wolves can commune with the 4 legged ones.
@SeattleJoe Might help with the naked men in Green Lake problem we've been having!
I'd even be up for an introduction into the Rainier Beach area and perhaps Belltown after 9 PM.
They will get rid of the coyotes. Â Not a good trade.
Operator! Quick! Get me through to the Washington State Department of Killing Things!
People have gotten used to life without the apex predator, re-allowing them to take back their original land will DEFINITELY be complicated. Personally I am not a supporter, because in our lifetimes it is as if we're introducing a new species to a fully functional environment. While they did live here before, it is now as if we're re-introducing a foreign predator to our ecosystem. Populations of other species will suffer as we re-establish balance. Hopefully it doesn't go the way of settlers and buffalo. The wildlife they prey upon in WA have never seen wolves before.
There is a reason we got rid of them in the first place and the practice still continues in Canada and Alaska when they show up around homes... Just think about it, that is all. I know they were here first...
the gray wolf is not a foreign predator to your ecosystem you clueless idiot. If you want to actually talk facts, the gray wolf is native to WA and was there way before you ever got them yourself. You clueless moron.
@rick6565 Hey everybody listen to this guy he really knows what he is talking about. He watches Animal Plant. LMAO
@(:}) Oly @rick6565 You tool.
@farm2cityÂ
This is the issue with wolves...no true threat of a natural predator allows them to bread and thrive, all the while indiscriminately killing surrounding animals and not only for food. I guess they can be called the humans of the wilderness.