Annual Wolf Report Available Online

The 2014 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 2014 Idaho Wolf Monitoring Progress Report includes the current status of the wolf population in Idaho. Biologists documented 104 wolf packs in Idaho at the end of 2014. In addition, there were 23 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 770 wolves were associated with documented packs of wolves in Idaho at the end of 2014, well above 150 wolves required under the 2009 delisting rule, yet below that of the peak years of 2008 and 2009. Determination of breeding pair status was made for 43 packs. Of these, 26 packs met breeding pair criteria at the end of 2014, and 17 packs did not. No determination of breeding pair status was made for the remaining 61 packs. Wolf packs ranged from the Canadian border south to the Snake River Plain, and from the Washington and Oregon borders east to the Montana and Wyoming borders. Dispersing wolves were occasionally reported in previously unoccupied areas. Wolf harvest by hunters and trappers was lower in 2014 compared to the prior year. Hunters and trappers harvested 256 wolves in 2014, 100 fewer than in 2013. Fewer total wolves were killed in response to depredations on livestock and predation on big game populations in 2014, with 67 wolves taken, 27 wolves less than during 2013. Average pack size was 6.5 wolves at the end of 2014, higher than the 5.4 wolves in 2013, but smaller than the 8.1 wolves per pack average during the 3 years prior to the establishment of harvest seasons in 2009. Nineteen wolf deaths were attributed to other human causes, and two to natural causes. The causes of 16 wolf mortalities could not be determined and were listed as unknown. The number of cattle and sheep lost to wolf depredation was below the average of the last 10 years, as was the number of wolves killed in response to depredations. During 2014, 43 cattle, 103 sheep, three dogs and one horse were confirmed as wolf kills. Ten cattle, 7 sheep, and 1 dog 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/.