Wolves Suspected Of Killing Dog Hunting Dog Found Dead After Straying From Master

Wolves from Yellowstone National Park are suspected in the death of a dog that strayed from its owner during a walk in the Fishtail area southwest of here.

Examination of the area where the dog died revealed “wolf-sized” tracks, said Larry Handegard of the federal Animal Damage Control office in Billings. Handegard said he found signs that four or five animals clashed with the dog.

A Yellowstone official said the apparent melee on Friday took place almost exactly where a pack of five adult wolves, transplanted from Canada to Yellowstone last winter, was found during a tracking flight the same day.

“It sounds like those wolves killed this dog to everyone who has listened to the meager facts we have,” said John Varley, head of the Yellowstone resource management division.

He said wildlife officials who examined the scene reported the dog, trained for hunting mountain lions, ran down the wolves. Varley said it is important to note the wolves evidently did not seek the dog.

“Virtually any wild animal that’s chased by another is going to defend itself,” Varley said.

The dog, a spayed Walker hound named “Smoker,” was born in 1988. She was bred to track mountain lions and weighed less than 15 pounds.

The dog’s owner reported he found the dead animal after following a sound, which he described as a “roaring growl,” about 200 yards from the road he was following west of Fishtail.

If confirmed, the incident would be the first known altercation between a domestic animal and any of the three Canadian wolf packs that were moved to Yellowstone last January. The transplanting was part of a federal project to restore wolves to the Yellowstone area.

Biologists had predicted wolves would kill a limited number of livestock and pets on the fringes of the park. Guidelines for the wolf project say wolves attacking pets twice within a calendar year are to be captured and moved. The definition of a pet may not include a hunting dog that pursues wolves on its own, Varley said.

Handegard said an autopsy had not yet been performed, and he could not be certain the wolves killed the dog. Varley said the five adult wolves and a pup known as the Soda Butte Pack left Yellowstone early this month.

Officials who investigated the incident reported the dog had been trailing a mountain lion when it apparently surprised the wolves, Varley said. But according to The Billings Gazette, the dog’s owners said that although the dog was trained to hunt mountain lions, it was not doing so just prior to the attack.

Further investigation of the incident is planned, Varley said.