Twin Peaks alpha pair moved to Selway-Bitterroot
Rest of the pack near Challis More Idaho wolf news
Update: Plan hatched to kill the rest of the wolves by tricking one wolf to lead to the rest.
Updates: Plan now in motion. Added story from Challis Messenger 3-23.
Bang's Chronicle of Events
Hunt called off for time being 3-30March 16, March 17 - March 30
Photo taken at the Clayton, Idaho Merc mid-March 2000.Update 3-30-2000. Due to two recent aircraft crashes of these planes (not in Idaho but elsewhere) all federal predator control aircraft are grounded until an official investigation is completed. Therefore, the air hunt for the remainder of this pack is on hold.
Update 3-27-2000. They have the subadult collared, but he hasn't returned to the pups. He was last located alone in the cliffs in Lyons Creek near and above Hurless' Place.
Update 3-23-2000. Story from Challis Messenger newspaper by Todd Adams (photos)
Update 3-23-2000. Ed Bangs sent the following chronicle of events to Michael Du'lyea (Thanks Ed and Mike!)
Update 3-20-2000: The alpha pair has been released in the Selway-Bitterroot where there are no cows. The male had a broken front tooth, but was otherwise OK.
Update 3-17-2000
Since the location of the rest of the Twin Peak Pack wolves is unknown, but Hurless claims to have had another calf hurt by a wolf attack, a plan is being readied to trap, if possible, a wolf near Hurless' Place. They will radio collar it, and they have it lead to the other wolves, which will then be shot. The remaining 3 or 4 members of the pack have no radio collars. Use of a radio collar to do this probably won't help the wolf radio collar donations much.
I think that if the rest of the pack has to be killed because of the "huge losses" this fellow has sustained, they should be required to do it the old fashioned way -- by the sweat of their brows -- not with donated high tech radio collars.
March 16, 2000
The alpha pair of the Twin Peaks Pack continued to return to Curt Hurless' Ranch on the Salmon River, and finally last weekend some wolves, probably this pair, killed another of Hurless calves. Wolves consumed most the calf, but wolf specialist Carter Niemeyer determined that they had not just consumed it, but had killed it. Last Monday, March 13, the radio collared alpha pair was darted from a helicopter in nearby Squaw Creek, a few miles upstream from Hurless place.
Hurless, who earlier refused a $1000 check from Defenders of Wildlife, told the Challis Messenger that this calf too was AI sired by a prize bull.
The rest of the Twin Peak Pack has no radio collars and had split from the alpha pair. However, they may have been located about 10 miles to east near the town of Challis. The Messenger reported that three, or maybe four wolves were spotted on Monday by scope above the Challis golf course. Meanwhile Wildlife Services has not been able to locate the wolves, suspected to be a sub-adult and two or three 11-month old pups.
B18M and B35F, the alpha pair, are to be relocated about 125 miles to the north in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness where there are no cattle. Two wolf packs -- Big Hole and Selway -- use the fringes of this huge wilderness area. Because mating season is over, no. 35 may be pregnant. If so she would start digging a den soon. However, the trauma or relocation may terminate the pregnancy. It is probably for the best she will not be digging a den on the outskirts of Challis or Clayton.
In other news, the two remaining members of the Jureano Pack (11-month old pups) have been captured. They had descended from the mountains and had been living next to a dairy just north of the town of Salmon. There they had been harassing the dairy cows, but had not attacked them. The Messenger quoted Niemeyer, "they were 'lazy bum pups' who had been feeding on carrion left by mountain lions and other predators." I have heard two contradictory stories on the future of these pups. One is that they may be held in a pen for re-acclamation for a period. The other is that they will be immediately returned to a remote part of the backcountry where they will live off wild prey or starve.
Update March 20. The pups were released deep in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness at the same time as the Twin Peaks alpha pair.
In yet another depredation story, a wolf pack (either the Big Hole or the Kelly Creek Pack) killed two lion tracking hounds in Fish Creek to the NW of Missoula, Montana near the Idaho border. I have a good description of the death of the hounds from their owner, and I am trying to get permission to use it. Two of the four hounds were killed by a pack of 7 wolves. At the time of the attack, a hound had treed a lion. This is the 4th incident where an Idaho pack, or pack. that largely lives in Idaho, have killed tracking hounds. Lion hunters are increasingly aware of the danger of such an interaction in areas where wolves are present.
One final thought occurred to me about the Twin Peaks Pack, and White Clouds pack to their south . . . both are now on the edge of wild horse country. It will be interesting to see if they will go after some of the horses. It should be noted that there are a lot of deer, elk and antelope in the area too, as well as lots of cattle.
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