ODFW kills six wolves from Black Pines pack
Published 10:45 am Wednesday, December 6, 2023
- The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has issued a second permit allowing a landowner, or agent, to kill up to two wolves in the High Valley of Union County.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employees have killed six wolves from the Black Pines pack, which has killed cattle in Baker and Union counties several times this fall.
Agency employees killed two wolves, a juvenile and a yearling, on Nov. 30 after wolves from the pack killed a six-month-old calf near Beagle Creek, in southern Union County near Medical Springs.
Ranchers had hazed wolves from the pack the previous day when they arrived on private land.
The day after ODFW workers killed the two wolves, animals from the Black Pines pack returned to the same area, where ranchers hazed them again.
The next day, Dec. 2, wolves returned, and ODFW employees killed four wolves — one adult, one yearling and two juveniles.
Workers chased the remaining wolves back onto higher elevation forested land.
ODFW on Nov. 21 authorized the killing of up to six wolves from the pack. With six wolves having been killed, that permit has expired.
According to ODFW, the Black Pines pack, prior to the killing of six wolves, consisted of at least 12 wolves, including five wolves born this spring.
ODFW biologists have confirmed that wolves from the pack have attacked livestock at least 10 times in Baker and Union counties over the past year, including at least four depredations this fall.
