The 90-pound male and 70-pound female were part of the Murphy Lake pack, which is one of the oldest packs in northwest Montana. First documented in 1989, the pack has, for the most part, steered clear of trouble with neighboring ranchers.
Until recently, the only livestock kills attributed to the wolves were several sheep in 1997.
Both wolves were shot from a helicopter by U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services specialists, state officials said.
State wildlife biologist Tim Their said the wolf pack had been ranging around the Trego and Stryker areas for the past several weeks, and had killed three calves and one adult cow on public land about three weeks ago.
They recommended that landowners who suspect wolf depredations should use a tarp to protect the livestock carcass from scavengers, so investigators can accurately verify the cause of death.
The cattle kills come at a time of resurgence in regional wolf populations. For decades, wolves were absent from northwest Montana, hunted out to make way for livestock and ranching spreads.
Since gaining protections under the federal Endangered Species Act, however, the animals have dispersed across much of their historic range, from Glacier National Park west to Libby and into the Idaho panhandle.
In fact, populations are strong enough today that it's not uncommon for motorists to hit wolves on the region's roadways.
Wolves migrated from Canada into Glacier National Park back in the 1980s, and then moved westward, into the low hills between Marion and Libby. Along the way, they have been studied hard, with researchers catching them, tracking them, monitoring them and, importantly, taking a bit of blood now and again.
Those blood samples, biologists say, can provide the DNA needed to illustrate how wolf dispersal works.
How their eating habits work, however, is somewhat less of a mystery.
In the 1990s, the Pleasant Valley Pack - with a home range not far from the Murphy Lake wolves - was wiped out after running into trouble with ranchers.
The Little Wolf Pack was likewise killed and dispersed after showing a taste for beef.
Wildlife officials did not say whether other members of the Murphy Lake Pack would be targeted for the recent livestock kills.
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