Splitting Wolf Pack Expected To Stop Depredation

Three wolf pups trapped between Boulder and Deer Lodge in September will be returned to the area and set free to rejoin their mother, but two older wolves will be relocated to Glacier National Park.

The five wolves were trapped after they killed three calves in a high-elevation summer range.

The depredation stopped after five of the wolves were removed, said Joe Fontaine of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the range now is being vacated for the season.

All the animals will be radio-collared so their movements can be tracked, he said.

Splitting the pack should stop their livestock depredation, he said, and the older wolves should have no problem finding new mates.

All five wolves had been proposed for release in Glacier, plus the mother if she could be caught.

Gov. Marc Racicot raised concerns about previous Glacier wolf relocations and asked for a “soft release.”

That would have entailed using holding pens to acclimatize the wolves to their new home, but Fontaine said the government agency did not have money for such an effort.