Wolf numbers rally - to point of roadkill
By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian
LIBBY - For decades, wolves were absent from the mountains around Libby, hunted out to make way for cattle and sheep and ranchers' spreads.
But in recent years, the animals have made an impressive comeback, dispersing across their historic range under protection of the Endangered Species Act. In fact, the animals that were in such short supply just a generation ago are now numerous enough to show up, occasionally, even as roadkill.
“It's not uncommon anymore to see them get hit,” said Kent Laudon, a state wolf management specialist.
Case in point: an adult female wolf found dead near the railroad tracks southeast of Libby. The 4-year-old is presumed to have been the alpha, or lead, female of the Wolf Prairie Pack.
On Feb. 21, a railroad worker found the wolf, which was picked up by Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists the following morning.
The cause of death remains under investigation, Laudon said, but it looks like she was simply hit by a train.
Such a commonplace death provides some indication as to how commonplace wolves have become since recolonizing the area from Canada just two decades back.
In 2005, Laudon said, 10 wolves are known to have been killed in northwest Montana. Two were shot by animal control officials after preying on livestock. Five more deaths are under investigation, but the wolves are assumed to have been killed illegally by people.
It's the remaining three dead wolves that point to their relatively successful return, each of that trio having been hit by cars.
In fact, one of those struck on the road was likely the offspring of the female killed by the train southeast of Libby.
They were part of the Wolf Prairie Pack, first documented in the hills east of town back in 2004. At that time, biologists trapped and collared a male and a female, traveling with two pups through the heat of July.
“We don't know where they came from,” Laudon said, “but genetics work might answer some of that.”
Wolves had spread from Canada into Glacier National Park back in the 1980s and had moved westward from there, into the low hills between Marion and Libby. Along the way, they were studied hard, with researchers catching them, tracking them, monitoring them and, importantly, taking a bit of blood now and again.
Those blood samples, Laudon said, may well provide the DNA needed to make it clear where that female found on the railroad tracks migrated from - an answer which in turn could provide insight into how wolf dispersal works.
Regardless of where they came from, though, it's all too clear where at least two ended up. Last summer, a young wolf was struck and killed by a car on aptly-named Wolf Creek Road, Laudon said, and biologists presume it was one of the two pups traveling with the male and female during the summer of 2004.
The pack quickly bolstered its ranks, however, with five pups surviving from last spring's litter. That brings the Wolf Prairie Pack to an estimated eight: mom, dad, one older sibling and the quintuplets.
It's not a lot, Laudon said, nowhere near what the big open landscape could handle. But it is enough to put wolves back on the radar, to upgrade them from a seldom-seen rarity to roadkill.
How well they fare ranging through the Wolf Creek and Little Wolf Creek drainages, he said, depends less upon cars and trains than upon the wolves' eating habits.
In the 1990s, the Pleasant Valley Pack called the same area home, but its members were killed or relocated after running into trouble with ranchers. Then came the Little Wolf Pack, likewise killed and dispersed after finding a taste for cattle.
In those years, Laudon said, there were more cows in the area than there are today, and large blocks of land have since changed hands.
“Some things have changed,” he said, “but the livestock presence is definitely still there. It's something to keep an eye on.”
In fact, he said, one cow turned up dead this past spring, and the resident wolves remain probable, if not provable, suspects.
Whether the Wolf Prairie eight can stay out of trouble remains to be seen, Laudon said, “but we know they're there, and we know they're making a comeback.”
Yet their future is tenuous. With the death of the alpha female, biologists say it's unlikely the pack will produce pups this spring.
Reporter Michael Jamison can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at mjamison@missoulian.com
Spot a wolf?
Send in a report by logging on to www.fwp.mt.gov/wildthings/
wolf, or drop a preprinted postcard - available at all Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks offices - into the snail mail. Or you can call Kent Laudon at (406) 751-4586.
Data collected from sightings help the wildlife agency document wolf activity, confirming pack sizes and wolf distribution. FWP's wolf management program aims to manage the animals much in the way the agency handles mountain lions and black bears. The current benchmark is 15 breeding pairs statewide.
Copyright © 2006 Missoulian
Missoulian
LIBBY - For decades, wolves were absent from the mountains around Libby, hunted out to make way for cattle and sheep and ranchers' spreads.
But in recent years, the animals have made an impressive comeback, dispersing across their historic range under protection of the Endangered Species Act. In fact, the animals that were in such short supply just a generation ago are now numerous enough to show up, occasionally, even as roadkill.
“It's not uncommon anymore to see them get hit,” said Kent Laudon, a state wolf management specialist.
Case in point: an adult female wolf found dead near the railroad tracks southeast of Libby. The 4-year-old is presumed to have been the alpha, or lead, female of the Wolf Prairie Pack.
On Feb. 21, a railroad worker found the wolf, which was picked up by Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists the following morning.
The cause of death remains under investigation, Laudon said, but it looks like she was simply hit by a train.
Such a commonplace death provides some indication as to how commonplace wolves have become since recolonizing the area from Canada just two decades back.
In 2005, Laudon said, 10 wolves are known to have been killed in northwest Montana. Two were shot by animal control officials after preying on livestock. Five more deaths are under investigation, but the wolves are assumed to have been killed illegally by people.
It's the remaining three dead wolves that point to their relatively successful return, each of that trio having been hit by cars.
In fact, one of those struck on the road was likely the offspring of the female killed by the train southeast of Libby.
They were part of the Wolf Prairie Pack, first documented in the hills east of town back in 2004. At that time, biologists trapped and collared a male and a female, traveling with two pups through the heat of July.
“We don't know where they came from,” Laudon said, “but genetics work might answer some of that.”
Wolves had spread from Canada into Glacier National Park back in the 1980s and had moved westward from there, into the low hills between Marion and Libby. Along the way, they were studied hard, with researchers catching them, tracking them, monitoring them and, importantly, taking a bit of blood now and again.
Those blood samples, Laudon said, may well provide the DNA needed to make it clear where that female found on the railroad tracks migrated from - an answer which in turn could provide insight into how wolf dispersal works.
Regardless of where they came from, though, it's all too clear where at least two ended up. Last summer, a young wolf was struck and killed by a car on aptly-named Wolf Creek Road, Laudon said, and biologists presume it was one of the two pups traveling with the male and female during the summer of 2004.
The pack quickly bolstered its ranks, however, with five pups surviving from last spring's litter. That brings the Wolf Prairie Pack to an estimated eight: mom, dad, one older sibling and the quintuplets.
It's not a lot, Laudon said, nowhere near what the big open landscape could handle. But it is enough to put wolves back on the radar, to upgrade them from a seldom-seen rarity to roadkill.
How well they fare ranging through the Wolf Creek and Little Wolf Creek drainages, he said, depends less upon cars and trains than upon the wolves' eating habits.
In the 1990s, the Pleasant Valley Pack called the same area home, but its members were killed or relocated after running into trouble with ranchers. Then came the Little Wolf Pack, likewise killed and dispersed after finding a taste for cattle.
In those years, Laudon said, there were more cows in the area than there are today, and large blocks of land have since changed hands.
“Some things have changed,” he said, “but the livestock presence is definitely still there. It's something to keep an eye on.”
In fact, he said, one cow turned up dead this past spring, and the resident wolves remain probable, if not provable, suspects.
Whether the Wolf Prairie eight can stay out of trouble remains to be seen, Laudon said, “but we know they're there, and we know they're making a comeback.”
Yet their future is tenuous. With the death of the alpha female, biologists say it's unlikely the pack will produce pups this spring.
Reporter Michael Jamison can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at mjamison@missoulian.com
Spot a wolf?
Send in a report by logging on to www.fwp.mt.gov/wildthings/
wolf, or drop a preprinted postcard - available at all Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks offices - into the snail mail. Or you can call Kent Laudon at (406) 751-4586.
Data collected from sightings help the wildlife agency document wolf activity, confirming pack sizes and wolf distribution. FWP's wolf management program aims to manage the animals much in the way the agency handles mountain lions and black bears. The current benchmark is 15 breeding pairs statewide.
Copyright © 2006 Missoulian
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