One of the wolves of the Imnaha pack in Wallowa County has died.
ODFW says it found the year old female yesterday – thanks to the signal from her radio collar. The collar sends out a special alert when it doesn’t move for four hours or more, and that’s when the agency suspected something might be wrong.
Waking up from my winter hibernation to pass along this amazing video from ODFW. I have no idea why other media haven’t picked up on it.
Shot on December 30, it gives us a close up look at three members of the Imnaha wolf pack in Northeast Oregon. That includes the alpha female and a pair of one year old pups. By now, the pups are full grown.
ODFW says it counted 16 pack members, bigger than previously believed. The agency thinks the pack produced six pups last year instead of four.
This is the wolf Oregon Wild says was killed by a poacher. Authorities have not confirmed the information. ODFW photo.
Update: The Associated Press has ODFW on the record as confirming the death, and that it is the adult male shown on the left. But still no comment about how the wolf died.
Trying to sort out reports that one of Oregon’s wolves – a member of the Wenaha pack – has been found shot to death.
The LaGrande Observer reports that the wolf was found Thursday by an employee of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Umatilla National Forest near Jarboe Meadow.
OPB says the wolf is the same one shown in the photo to the left, an adult male that was outfitted with a radio collar in early August.
But the most disturbing claim comes from Oregon Wild. In an email, the group says the wolf was found shot to death, and blames a poacher for the kill.
Oregon Wild says this is the third kill of a wolf since they returned to Oregon.
So far, neither Federal or State officials have confirmed the news.
Oregon Fish and Wildlife is giving us our first look at the newest members of the state’s growing wolf population.
The three photos, released late Wednesday afternoon, show the two pups born this year to the Wenaha wolf pack in Northeast Oregon.
ODFW captured, weighed and measured, then released the pups last Friday.
The alpha male of the Imnaha wolf pack is in the foreground, still wearing his radio collar. The alpha female is in the background. The image was recorded by a trail camera on August 11, 2010. ODFW photo.
ODFW just released this photo showing the alpha male of the Imnaha pack in Wallowa County. The photo was taken a couple of weeks ago as he and the alpha female stepped in front of a trail camera.
If you’ve been following the wolf news this summer, you’ll remember that his radio collar stopped transmitting in late May. He went missing just as the controversy over wolf attacks on livestock was reaching the boiling point. So there was some concern he’d been killed by a poacher. ODFW was saying all along that a broken collar was a far more likely explanation. Turns out they appear to be correct. You can see him wearing the collar in the photo.
Still waiting for photos of the two new wolf pups in the Wenaha pack.
The Wenaha wolf pack in Northeast Oregon has produced at least two pups this season. ODFW confirmed the news this afternoon. They appear to the first pups born to the Wenaha pack.
And there’s some good news to report on Oregon’s other wolf pack. After being missing for almost three months, the alpha male of the Imnaha pack has been located.
Fish and Wildlife asked for comments on the state’s Wolf Management Plan, and Oregonians responded in a big way.
ODFW says it received more than 22,000 letters and emails from the public and stakeholder groups such as the Oregon Cattleman’s Association, Oregon Wild, and the Hells Canyon Preservation Council.
After sorting through the pile, what’s left is a description of what we think is working – and not working – as the State searches for ways for manage its small, but growing population of wolves.
Male wolf from Wenaha pack was fitted with a radio collar on Aug. 4, 2010. ODFW photo.
For the first time, wildlife officials have captured one of the wolves in the Wenaha pack in Northeast Oregon.
The two year old male was caught on Wednesday, outfitted with a tracking collar, and released.
It’s a big deal for Oregon Fish and Wildlife. That’s because it will now be a whole lot easier for the agency to monitor the pack and learn more about how well the wolves are doing.
One of 45 goats released at Mt. Jefferson. Photo by Jim Yuskavitch.
For the first time in more than a century, wild Rocky Mountain goats are back home in the Central Oregon Cascades.
45 goats – relocated from the Elkhorn Mountains – were released Tuesday at the base of Mt. Jefferson. It’s part of an ongoing effort to help the Rocky Mountain goat recover in the state.
Oregon’s only breeding pair of wolves has done it again.
Oregon Fish and Wildlife says the Imnaha pack has – at least – four new wolf pups this year.
The photos of the pups romping through a field in Wallowa County are sure to delight environmentalists, and to dismay many Northeast Oregon ranchers.
