Wolf monitoring report released; 108 packs documented in Idaho in 2015
<p>This undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a gray wolf.</p>
The 2015 annual summary of wolf monitoring in Idaho is now available, and shows wolf numbers remain well above the 150 wolves and 15 breeding pairs required to keep gray wolves off the endangered species list under the 2009 de-listing rule.
The 2015 Idaho Wolf Monitoring Progress Report includes the current status of the wolf population in Idaho.
Wolves range in Idaho from the Canadian border south to the Snake River Plain, and from the Washington and Oregon borders east to the Montana and Wyoming borders.
Biologists documented 108 wolf packs in Idaho at the end of 2015. In addition, there were 20 documented packs counted by Montana, Wyoming, and Washington that had established territories overlapping the Idaho state boundary. Not all packs are presumed documented.
An estimated 786 wolves were associated with documented packs of wolves in Idaho at the end of 2015, similar to that for 2014, yet below that of the peak years of 2008 and 2009.
Biologists made closer study of 53 packs to determine if they met the federal breeding pair criteria (an adult male and adult female and at least 2 pups present on December 31). Of these, biologists documented that 33 packs met breeding pair criteria at the end of 2015. Because the number of packs meeting breeding pair criteria was already well above the federal recovery requirement, Idaho did not undertake the considerable expense and personnel time necessary to confirm whether the remaining packs met federal breeding pair criteria.
Wolf harvest by hunters and trappers was unchanged from 2014 to 2015. Hunters and trappers harvested 256 wolves in 2015. Fifty four wolves were killed in response to depredations on livestock and 21 were taken to reduce predation on big game populations in 2015.
Average pack size was 6.4 wolves at the end of 2015, similar to the 6.5 average wolf pack size in 2014 and smaller than the 8.1 wolves per pack average during the 3 years prior to the establishment of harvest seasons in 2009.
Wolf depredations on livestock have trended downward since wolf harvest began in 2011. USDA Wildlife Services agents classified 35 cattle, 125 sheep, 3 dogs, and 1 horse as confirmed wolf depredations in 2015. Nine cattle and 9 sheep were classified as probable wolf depredations.
The Idaho progress report is available online at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/wolves
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Northern Rocky Mountain progress report, which includes reports from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, is available at: http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/