Field reports: Park wolf killed for seeking handouts

WILDLIFE –A Yellowstone National Park ranger killed a gray wolf last week that repeatedly had come close to people in recent months.

Park spokesman Dan Hottle said the 110-pound male wolf had come within a few feet of visitors and park staff on several occasions since this summer. Efforts to haze the wolf away from populated areas had been unsuccessful.

The wolf was estimated at 2-4 years old. Park staff were concerned it might become more aggressive.

Park staff never saw anyone feed the wolf but believed it was conditioned to human food because it was following people. Feeding animals is a violation of park regulations.

Associated Press

Farmer sets age mark climbing Kilimanjaro

CLIMBING – A Walla Walla man set the world record as the oldest person to summit Mount Kilimanjaro on foot.

Richard Byerley, 84, summited Kilimajaro with his grandchildren, Annie, 29, and Bren, 24, before sunrise on Oct. 6, after a six-day trek on the Machame Route.

Kilimanjaro, elevation 19,340 feet, is in northeastern Tanzania near Kenya.

Byerley didn’t suffer any altitude sickness on his journey but said his hands were cold when he reached the summit.

Byerley lives in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Walla Walla, where he owns an alfalfa farm. He trained for the climb by hiking mountains in Washington and Idaho, bicycling, running and occasionally moving 40-foot pipes in the fields on his farm.

KING 5 TV

Man shocked by poking dead bear

WILD ENCOUNTERS – Authorities say a bowhunter suffered serious injuries from an electric shock when he poked a dead bear lying on live wires.

The Park County (Mont.) sheriff’s office says Edward Garcia of Emigrant came across a badly decomposed bear carcass last Sunday north of Gardiner.

Garcia was shocked when he poked the carcass with a knife, suffering injuries to his torso, head and hands.

The sheriff’s office says Garcia walked 2 miles to find help. He was flown to a burn center in Salt Lake City, where he was listed in critical condition on Tuesday.

Associated Press

Pneumonia killing bighorns in Montana

WILDLIFE – Wildlife officials say a pneumonia outbreak has killed several bighorn sheep in the Skalkaho area in western Montana.

Officials said two dead sheep recently died from severe cases of pneumonia. A third sheep had been dead too long to identify the cause.

Veterinarian Brent Rice of Hamilton said smoky conditions in the area from forest fires might have stressed the bighorns and made them more susceptible.

Officials say that if the outbreak spreads it would be the seventh major die-off of bighorns in western Montana since 2009.

Missoulian