Ranchers Blame Wolves; Experts Disagree

A Priest River rancher is crying wolf after finding a dead burro and two dead cows on his property.

“We know it’s wolves. We have no doubt,” said Carol Henderson, who owns and operates a 580-acre ranch with her husband, Orlin.

“We are a small operation and if we keep losing one animal a week, we will be out of business by the end of the year,” she said.

The Hendersons called federal animal control officers asking for help after their first livestock death. Officers accidentally trapped and killed a wolf near the Henderson ranch last month while exterminating coyotes.

But U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say that doesn’t prove wolves are attacking livestock.

“We have looked at the (dead) animals and there is no evidence to suggest wolves were involved in any way,” said Ted Koch, a Boise-based wolf recovery biologist. “I will say emphatically a wolf did not kill the cows or burro.”

Koch said the cow he found Saturday had no blood or bite marks on it. The other cow and burro appeared to have been scavenged by ravens and coyotes, maybe even a wolf, but they didn’t die from a wolf attack, he said. A coyote attack is unlikely, too.

“An independent local veterinarian visited the scene Saturday and remarked how clean the cow was,” Koch said.

When cows are chased by a predator they typically defecate and make a mess, Koch added, saying there was also no evidence of that.

The dead animals were found during the last three weeks. The burro was found first, caught in a fence with a broken neck.

A week later, Henderson said they found a dead cow in the same place the burro died. The second cow was found last weekend.

“They were trying to tell us dogs are running the herd,” Henderson said. “We’ve had dogs for 50 years and it’s not dogs. We have seen big tracks and think the wolves are running them to death.”

Koch said a wolf was sighted near the ranch last week, but tracks don’t indicate the predator chased or killed any cattle.

“We suspect there may be a disease problem,” he said. Another cow on the ranch appears sick and tests are being done on one of the dead cows to check for diseases, said Koch.

Henderson doesn’t buy the disease theory. She wants the wolf trapped and moved away from her 50 head of cattle.

“They said after the second cow was killed they would move the wolf. Now they are telling us the wolf will get collared and stay right here. That’s what’s making us mad.”

Koch said a wolf can’t legally be removed unless there is proof it’s killing or threatening livestock. The only way to get proof is to radio collar and track the animal, he said.

Since Saturday, two trappers from the Wildlife Service and one from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have been setting live traps on the Henderson ranch.

“If we collar it and if it does get into the cows or even chases them, it’s a threat. Then we can remove that wolf and relocate it,” Koch said.

“For all we know the wolf is gone, but we are in place to deal with it if it comes back. We are doing our best to work with the landowners.”

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