Wolf population increases in Northern Rockies

BILLINGS – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates the number of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies has increased since last year, to 912 animals, largely because of continued growth in Idaho’s wolf population.

The number in Montana is up from the 2004 year-end estimate but below 2003’s level; it is down in Wyoming, where illness and competition for food and territory in Yellowstone National Park seem to have hit the population hard, according to the agency’s mid-year estimate.

Overall, the population is doing well and is up from last December, when an estimated 835 wolves roamed the region of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, Ed Bangs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s wolf recovery coordinator in Helena, said Tuesday.

“But people who think wolves are just going to keep going, that’s not true,” Bangs said of the population. “We’re probably approaching as many wolves as we can handle in these conditions and times.”

According to the midyear estimates, used by wildlife officials to gauge where monitoring efforts need to be focused, there were 166 wolves in Montana, 221 in Wyoming and 525 in Idaho, which Bangs said offers, by far, the most and best-quality wolf habitat in the region.

At the end of 2004, there were an estimated 153 wolves in Montana, 260 in Wyoming and 422 in Idaho, according to Fish and Wildlife.

Steve Nadeau, statewide large carnivore program coordinator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said parts of that state offer places where wolves could still expand without a high-risk of getting into conflicts. The central part of the state, though, “seems to be pretty saturated with wolves,” he said.

This year, he said, Idaho saw a surge in livestock killed by wolves, though he had no immediate tally. As wolves expand their territory, this is to be expected, he said.

“We anticipate an increase in headaches as the population continues to increase,” Nadeau said. “Currently, the situation is manageable.”

Disease has taken a toll on wolves in parts of Montana and Wyoming. In southern Montana, near Yellowstone, mange has been found in six wolf packs that have encountered “significant” losses, according to the agency report. Mange can lead to excessive scratching and hair loss that leaves wolves more vulnerable to infection and the elements, said Carolyn Sime, wolf program coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Parvo virus, which can cause extreme diarrhea and dehydration and can kill more vulnerable animals, like pups, is suspected in cases in Yellowstone, Bangs said. Fish and Wildlife estimates that the park’s population has dropped from 171 last year to 118, with competition for food and territory factoring in, he said.

“Everyone kind of knew it. The park is full of wolves,” he said, adding that four packs “kind of disappeared.”

In Wyoming, outside of Yellowstone, wildlife officials wiped out three packs for livestock depredation, Bangs said. Excluding the park, his agency estimated 102 wolves in Wyoming, up from 89 last year. Wildlife officials in Montana are investigating possible new packs, particularly in the western part of the state, Sime said.