Colville Tribe documents Washington’s 9th wolf pack

ENDANGERED SPECIES — The Colville Tribe confirmed Washington’s ninth wolf pack Sunday as they trapped and released a 104-pound gray wolf.

The new group of gray wolves has been called the Strawberries Pack.

The wolf is the third to be captured, fitted with a GPS collar and released  on the reservation in three months.

Eric Krausz and Donovan Antoine of the tribe’s wildlife program caught the 104-pound female wolf on Sunday, the tribe reports.

Wolf trapping expert Carter Niemeyer was hired last spring to teach the Tribes’ wildlife personnel the tricky art trapping gray wolves.  While Niemeyer was on the reservation, the trapping team captured a 68-pound female and a 72-pound male as the tribe confirmed the state’s eighth pack, dubbed the Nc’icn Pack.

After scouting to find significant wolf sign, Krausz and Antoine set a trapline two weeks ago that finally caught the third wolf after six days.

The tribe is working on a wolf management plan that’s separate from the Washington wolf plan adopted last year to deal with wolves as the naturally move back into their former range.