A record number have been killed this year in the northern Rocky Mountains for going after cows, sheep, dogs and other domestic animals.
So far, 152 wolves have been shot by government agents or private landowners, about 50 more than last year and an eight-fold increase from five years ago.
Wolf managers are taking a more aggressive tack with problem wolves mostly because the population in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho has soared beyond expectation in recent years.
“We've got a recovered population so we're pretty hard on them if they get into trouble,” said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
There are at least 1,264 wolves in the three states, according to new figures provided Monday.
That's roughly a 20 percent increase over 2005, which is on top of years of steady growth since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995 and 1996.
“I'm surprised we ever got over 1,000 wolves but in the long term I think it will be less,” Bangs said. “I think we're on the top edge of that bubble and it's going to go down.”
All three states saw the number of wolves grow in 2006 over the previous year. Montana's total increased from 256 to 300, Wyoming's grew from 252 to about 314 and Idaho's grew from 512 to around 650.
In Montana, the increased numbers reflect more wolves in the northwest part of the state and better reporting on the ground in recent years, said Carolyn Sime, who leads the wolf program for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
“I feel like the minimum estimates are more realistic now than anything in the last 10 years,” she said.
Much of the best wolf habitat, especially in Yellowstone, is filling up. Eventually, as the good spots disappear and it becomes harder to find ample food, the population will dip back down, Bangs said.
So far this year, wolves in the three states have killed 170 cows, 344 sheep, eight dogs, a horse, a mule and two llamas, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. The kills - greater for sheep and cattle than any other year - are almost certainly higher than the numbers show because confirming wolf kills can be difficult.
But more wolves have been killed in turn.
The vast majority were shot by agents with federal Wildlife Services. A small percentage were killed by private landowners in Montana and Idaho, which were recently given more flexibility in pursuing wolves that were trying to kill livestock.
Typically, 6 to 7 percent of the wolf population has been culled by “lethal control,” as some call it. This year, the rate is around 12 percent overall and
25 percent in Wyoming outside Yellowstone.
“It's still just a small percentage of wolves involved but when a pack gets into chronic trouble, we get rid of 'em,” Bangs said.
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