Friday, May 12, 2006

Two wolves eliminated from Garden Creek, Idaho

BY ANNA MEANS

A black subadult male and young grey female wolf were eliminated from Garden Creek last week after substantial evidence indicated they had been killing sheep on private property. Over the past three weeks, authorities had been investigating the death of two sheep on a ranch close to town. Last week, two more turned up dead, according to Rick Williamson with Wildlife Services.

Tracks and other evidence suggested two wolves were the cause of the depredation, said Williamson. After conferring with Fish and Game, William-son set traps out on public land where the wolves were thought to frequent. They caught one wolf the first night, Williamson said, but it managed to escape before staff checked it the following morning.

At that point, authorities ordered a fixed wing aircraft to fly the area. On Thursday, spotters located two wolves, one black and the other grey. The black wolf, a subadult male, was eliminated from the air. They set up another trap and Friday morning found a young female grey wolf in the trap. They euthanized her at that time.

Both wolves were suspected in depredations reported last month. Rancher Tim Kemmery was certain wolves had killed one ram and two ewes the morning of April 3, but couldn't prove it. He'd seen wolf sign and wolves in the Garden Creek area for the past three years, he said, and witnessed them chasing elk in the area in March. Others had reported seeing wolves around the Challis golf course throughout the past few months.

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