Protected Wolves Rile Rancher Pack Transplanted To Idaho Has Killed His And Neighbor’S Cattle

Frustration rides shotgun these days with rancher Mcgee Latimer.

Born and raised in the Pahsimeroi Valley, where it goes against a man’s grain to stand back while wolves kill his livestock, Latimer is being asked to use restraint when it comes to the predators that have already killed his cattle.

“I don’t know how this is going to turn out,” said the rifle-toting rancher. “Maybe I ought to start giving wolf tours.”

Wolves from the Moyer pack killed three of Latimer’s cattle and another belonging to a neighbor about July 23 on his grazing allotment 50 miles west of Salmon near Cobalt.

The pack is part of an experimental population transplanted into the Idaho wilderness in 1995 and 1996. They are protected by special rules under the Endangered Species Act. Designed to deal with livestock predations like Latimer’s, the rules allow state wolf recovery managers to use different strategies in attempting to stop the wolves from killing livestock.

First, they can capture and relocate animals they suspect of the killings. Because Idaho has more than six breeding pairs, officials also can shoot the wolves if they feel the animals can’t be rehabilitated.

In Latimer’s case, two agents from the Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services trapped a yearling female at a kill site, collared her and released her into the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness about 100 miles north of Cobalt. Trackers say the wolf is heading north, away from her home range.

But that is little consolation to Latimer. The place where the cattle were killed bore the paw prints of several wolves, he said. Adding to his frustration is the fact that a tracking team assigned to follow the pack can’t keep tabs on the whole bunch.

At least two wolves in the pack don’t have collars so it’s almost impossible to track them, say trackers for the Nez Perce Tribe in charge of Idaho’s wolf recovery. Latimer said he also saw an uncollared wolf at daybreak in a field with his neighbor’s mare and her colt.

Latimer isn’t sure what to do. At home, his overripe hay needs cutting. When he’s on his swather, he feels like he should be out guarding his cattle. When he’s riding the range, he feels he should be home putting up the hay.

As far as Latimer is concerned, it’s just a matter of time before wolves kill another one of his cows.

Like wolves, cattle shade up during the day and range out during the cooler hours. They also tend to hang out in small groups up secluded draws.

Hot weather and a range of scavengers and predators including bears, wolves and mountain lions can quickly erase the evidence necessary to determine whether wolves made the kill.

Defenders of Wildlife, a group that reimburses ranchers in the West who lose cattle to wolves, mostly likely will pay Latimer for the three animals.

But Latimer found three other carcasses, including a calf’s tail, but there wasn’t enough evidence to tell what had killed them.

Hank Fischer, Northern Rockies representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said his organization offers the compensation hoping that it will increase landowners’ tolerance for wolves.

“The point of our program is to keep people from feeling like they have to shoot wolves,” Fischer said.