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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Livestock Deaths Force Relocation Of Wolf Pups

Associated Press

Livestock deaths stemming from the Sawtooth Pack near Augusta, Mont., have forced U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to move six more pups from the pack of transplanted Canadian wolves.

Agency spokeswoman Sharon Rose said on Monday that the six pups were moved on Sept. 8. and a collared 3-year-old female wolf from the same pack was killed because it was linked to the livestock loss.

Two adults were left at the site with four pups. One of the adults and one of the pups wear radio collars.

The six pups captured will join four litter mates and two yearling animals, a male and a female, from the Nez Perce pack in one of the acclimation pens in Yellowstone National Park in what officials hope will be the formation of a new pack.

“As shown by some of our earlier successes in manipulating wolf packs, interactions among the four pups placed in the pen with the two Nez Perce yearling wolves has been great,” said Ralph Morgenweck, regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

“It’s difficult to know how Mother Nature will react to some of our ideas, but in this case it seems to be working,” he said.

Last week, to cope with earlier livestock deaths, biologists moved four of the 14 pups and killed an adult wolf in an effort to change pack behavior and prevent further depredation.

Shortly after that, one or more of the remaining adults killed another calf.

As part of the service’s role in managing wolves, and after discussions with local landowners who sustained losses, biologists thought it necessary to kill another adult wolf involved in previous killings and relocate as many pups to the park as possible.

Yellowstone biologists will provide food and care for the wolves while they are penned and expect to keep them until early next spring.