Four wolves in Montana’s Sawtooth pack that were shot
in September for killing livestock may have been starving and
frantic to feed their 14 pups.
All the wolves had
badly maimed paws, says Bob Ream, a biologist at the University of
Montana.
“The federal trapper who shot the wolves
told me that three of four adults had scars from pretty severe past
wounds on their feet,” Ream says. “The alpha (dominant) female had
one front and one hind leg damaged. One male had a bum leg and
limped badly.”
Ream says it would have been
difficult for four severely wounded animals to feed 14 pups. “It’s
amazing to me that they didn’t do it (kill livestock) earlier,” he
says. “They were living among cattle all summer.”
Ream thinks the injuries were caused by traps
set by local ranchers for coyotes. “I don’t think they were
deliberately aimed at the wolves,” he says. The animals probably
injured their feet while pulling out of secured traps, he says, or
they may have dragged unsecured traps until their toes sloughed
off, releasing the traps.
Animal Damage Control
officer Larry Handegaard says the wolves’ feet have been sent to a
lab at Montana State University in Bozeman for analysis. The
Sawtooth pack is one of nine gray wolf packs that dispersed
naturally across Montana from packs in Glacier National
Park.
– Mark
Matthews
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Desperate wolves.
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