Female #16 and the Sheep Mountain Pack

I have recently been informed that 4 members of this pack have been shot by Wildlife Services due to several livestock depredations.

As I understand it, during the first week of October three "pups of the year" were mistakenly shot after a lengthy pursuit through a heavily wooded area. The intended targets were three sub-adults (yearlings) and one adult male.

#16 and several other pack members were located elsewhere at the time Wildlife Services observed the group of wolves near the dead calf and are not (at this time) believed to be responsible for the depredations.

The fourth wolf, #165, now officially confirmed to have been the Alpha Male of the pack was located and shot on October 10th. He was traveling alone at the time.

Female #16 and other pack members, including the three surviving "pups of the year" who are now 6 months old, were observed about 15 miles away when the latest "control action" was implemented.

Because of the mistaken killings of the three pups, there remains the possibility that more wolves from this pack may also be shot.

I am personally devastated by this news, though not at all surprised by it. I have had an "unsettling" feeling about this pack ever since mid summer when cattle was turned out to graze on public land immediately adjacent to their rendezvous site.

And though they did not harm any livestock at that time, they did eventually find the carcass of a dead calf and experience their first taste of beef.

But these wolves were not the first, and will certainly not be the last, to fall victim to the very rule which paved the way for wolf restoration to become a reality.

The rule, set up in accordance with the reintroduction, clearly states that any wolf caught in the act of, or known to be guilty of livestock depredation will be subject to a "control action" And local ranchers have always been assured that any "problem" wolves would be dealt with accordingly.

I have always understood only too well the "politics" of the reintroduction. Almost from its onset, with the one and only exception being #9 and her pups, the lives of the individual wolves have been considered inconsequential to the overall success of the project.

Unfortunately, this was the way it had to be. The future of wolf restoration depended on it. And in order to maintain the cooperation of local ranchers, those in charge of wolf management have been bound by their promise to eliminate "problem" wolves, plain and simple. But is it?

For the past ten years I have done everything in my power to aid in the success of the restoration project. But I am finding it increasingly more difficult to justify the continued killings and destruction of so many packs. How can the loss of (what has become) so many wolves still be considered inconsequential? What are we doing?

It is not my intent to place blame on any particular agencies or individuals by voicing my opinion on this matter. And in no way am I advocating decreased dedication to the program to anyone. I have always been 100% committed to Wolf Restoration and will remain so for as long as I live.

Note: Apparently, I and a few others were not the only ones upset by the recent "control action" of the Sheep Mountain Pack. The following statement was taken from the latest Gray Wolf Recovery Report:

"The Service received a considerable number of phone and e-mail comments and complaints about the Sheep Mountain control action. Many people believed the Service did not try hard enough to resolve this issue prior to authorizing lethal control. Many people were "outraged" that the 3 young of the year were mistaken for adults and removed"

I have just learned that two more sub-adults from this pack were killed on 11/2. The two yearlings, both gray females, were shot while in the company of four other wolves after being located on private land near cattle. Female #16 was not with the group at the time.

The pack now appears to have only eight to nine surviving members, which (I believe) include Female #16, Male #118, the three surviving "pups of the year" and three to four sub-adults.

Because most pack members are now believed to have taken part in livestock depredations it is conceivable that even more wolves, if not the entire pack, might eventually be "removed" from the program.

In my opinion this would be a monumental tragedy in the history of the restoration project.

And the killing of Female #16 in particular, would be a devastating end to a life that was once so precious to the success of the reintroduction!

Wildlife Services has temporarily suspended further "control actions" of the Sheep Mountain Pack. It is hoped that livestock depredations by this pack have ceased. The remaining pack members appear to have split into two groups and (thankfully) all the wolves have moved away from the grazing allotment.

During a recent fly-over Female #16 was observed in the company of seven other pack members. Another member of the pack, collared sub-adult Male #164 was also located a short distance away from the pack.

Male #164 has apparently dispersed from this pack and joined what appears to be the formation of a new pack. This new pack was formed by none other than his grandmother, female #9, who was displaced as Alpha of the Rose Creek pack by her other surviving daughter, #18 in October.

#9's resurgence has taken everyone by surprise! Many believed that she wouldn't be able to survive for much longer without a pack, and did not view her prospects of finding or forming one too likely.

There are presently 4 wolves in #9's new pack. The other two wolves are female #153, who I believe is #9's daughter born in 1998, and an uncollared, unidentified black male.

It is not yet known which of the two males is, or will be, the Alpha of the pack, but I'll be sure to update this story as soon as the information becomes available to me.

For more details on Female #9 see Update #2

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