New wolf pack confirmed in Washington brings total to 19

Washington officially has a new gray wolf pack.

State wildlife managers this week reported that part of a northcentral Washington wolf pack has split away and formed a new group.

“The wolves that staff captured and collared in the Profanity Peak Pack last summer and winter have established a separate territory immediately to the south, named the Sherman Pack,” said Donny Martorello, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf program manager.

The pack roams in the vicinity of Sherman Pass in Ferry County north of the Colville Indian Reservation, he said.

In March, the agency reported that Washington’s wolf population continued to grow last year and added at least four new packs. By the end of 2015, the state was home to at least 90 wolves, 18 packs and eight breeding pairs.

The new Sherman Pack raises the state’s tally to 19 packs. The number of wolves likely has increased, too, as this year’s crop of pups emerges from their dens.