Authorities believe that wolf killed calf

LEWISTON – Federal agents have confirmed that a wolf killed a calf near the northern Idaho town of Southwick, but other calves and a colt found dead nearby were more likely killed by coyotes.

“We have three complaints we have investigated,” said Todd Grimm, a district supervisor at Wildlife Services in Boise.

“Two of them we are pretty sure are not wolves, the other one we are sure it was a wolf.”

The agency and the Nez Perce Tribe have received several reports of wolves being seen in the Potlatch River Basin this spring. The reports include two near Kendrick, about 25 miles southeast of Moscow, and one near Southwick another 10 miles away.

Grimm said wildlife agent Dave Thomas of Deary investigated both reports but could not say wolves were responsible.

Grimm said the agency believes coyotes were more likely the culprits. But Thomas was able to confirm a calf killed near Southwick was the victim of a wolf attack.

“Wildlife Services has confirmed that wolves have killed one calf in the Southwick country and there is a control action going on right now,” said Curt Mack, wolf recovery coordinator for the Nez Perce Tribe.

Mack said the calf killed near Southwick could be the result of a lone wolf passing through the area or it could be from a group of animals new to the area.

Because the calf killed near Southwick was confirmed to have died from a wolf attack, the landowner will be eligible for compensation from a fund maintained by the group Defenders of Wildlife.

There are known wolf packs near the Southwick site, one on Lolo Creek and another near Pierce, Mack said. Either of those packs could have served as a source for a new pack.

Mack said biologists from the tribe and agents from Wildlife Services are attempting to capture a wolf in the Southwick area. If one is trapped, it will be fitted with a radio collar and released, he said.

Biologists would then track its movements and determine if it is alone or part of a pack that could be trying to establish itself in the area. If there is a pack in the area, biologists will try to establish its range.

“Depending on what we learn, we could be a lot better prepared to work with landowners in the area,” Mack said.

Wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act. They were reintroduced in Idaho in 1995 and 1996 and have since thrived. They have done so well that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would like to remove them from the endangered species list.

Idaho has more than 400 wolves in an estimated 35 packs.