Update: Washington State now has a fifth wolf pack. The resilient survivors are re-establishing themselves in Washington after extermination by man decades ago. The new "Smackout pack" is located in northeast Stevens County, and biologists confirmed it by tagging a two month old pup from the pack. Locals reported seeing wolf pups and hearing howling in the area. Humans became aware of wolves resettling Washington in 2008, when the Lookout pack was documented. Two more packs were documented in Pend Oreille County, the Diamond (2009) and Salmo (2010) packs. DNA testing indicates that the recently discovered Teanaway pack is descended through its alpha female to the Lookout pack. Conditions are not conducive to wolf survival next door in Idaho, however. The wolf-haters there just announced a second open season on wolves in the state. Last year's hunt was blocked by a lawsuit. Idaho may be home to as many as a thousand wolves, but state authorities want to reduce that number to as little as 150. There is no biological justification for hunting wolves to near extinction. They play a scientifically recognized role in the ecosystems they inhabit as all apex predators do. Elk herds in wolf-hating states like Idaho, Wyoming and Montana are above state objectives for 2010. The deer populations are even more robust. Sheep and cattle kills are no where near threatening the livestock industry with disaster warranting wholesale slaughter of an important and iconic species. Relieving hunter frustration as Montana Fish & Game Chairman Bob Ream admitted wolf hunts are intended to do is simply not a good enough reason to persecute wolves. Viewed from this perspective, slaughtering wolves is morally equivalent to wife beating.
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| courtesy: WFWD |
{21.7.11}DNA testing has confirmed that Washington State has a new wolf pack, its fourth. Samples taken from a radio-collared female gray wolf indicate she is a wild wolf and not a wolf-dog hybrid. Washington is in the process of finalizing a state wolf conservation and management plan after Congress removed the wolf from the federal endangered list in a political deal with range state senators earlier this year. A draft state plan will be presented to the Fish & Wildlife Commission next month. The wolf is protected in Washington, unlike in the neighboring state of Idaho, and the lack of nationwide federal protection will subject the wolf to a confusing range of human reaction to its presence from tolerance to persecution. The new Teanaway Pack was located after reports from citizens and agency personnel of wolves in the area of the Teanaway River about 100 miles from Seattle. Remote cameras were placed by the state and non-profit organizations to capture images
[photo]. Prior to the confirmation of another breeding pack, there were about 25 wolves believed to be resident in the state. Wolves were exterminated in Washington by the early 1930s.