Seven Wolves Captured In Canada, But One Animal Accidentally Killed

A tranquilizer dart through the lungs killed a wolf Sunday, dealing U.S. biologists their first major disappointment as they captured Canadian wolves for release into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho.

Seven wolves had been successfully captured by noon Sunday, either by snares on the ground or by helicopter-borne marksmen with 50-caliber rifles shooting 3-inch tranquilizer darts.

But then in late afternoon, as a helicopter hovered 20 feet above a young female wolf fleeing across the snow, a marksman fired a dart that entered the muscle and pierced the wolf’s lung instead of merely sticking in the skin, said wildlife veterinarian Dave Hunter.

“This is kind of a downer,” said Hunter, a veterinarian for the state of Idaho who is assisting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the wolf transplant project.

But he added that biologists knew fatalities could occur. This kind of operation typically has a death rate of about 3 percent, he said.

“Any time you trap animals, I don’t care how you do it, … there’s a possibility of trauma to the animals,” Hunter said.

The biologists are seeking 30 wolves this winter in a 100-by-200 mile area around Hinton in western Alberta.

Two of the seven captive wolves suffered minor injuries, both caused by the snares that had trapped them, said veterinarian Mark Johnson. One wolf was cut around its hind leg, while another suffered scrapes around its waist when the snare tightened around it, he said.

Both of those animals, as well as the other five wolves awaiting transport south, are in good health, Johnson said.

The dead wolf was brought in for a necropsy. It will be used in a study by Alberta biologists on the health of wolves, Johnson said.