Resurgence of Once-Endangered Species Means Renewed Tension With Ranchers
Wolves Running Wild in the West
By CHRIS BURY and ELY BROWN
June 20, 2008—
In Idaho’s rugged ranch country, a young calf killed by predators is every rancher’s worst nightmare. For veteran biologist Rick Williamson, it’s the beginning of a wildlife version of “CSI.”
“There’s a blood trail through here,” Williamson observed. “We need to have the evidence to suggest what happened to this calf.”
Wolves have been spotted in the region, but so have coyotes, bears and mountain lions. As part of his investigation, Williamson conducts a necropsy an animal autopsy right on the spot. If a wolf is responsible, the rancher will be compensated, and the wolf pack possibly hunted down.
“We are looking for feeding patterns that would suggest wolves [which] feed differently than coyotes or red fox or black bears,” he said.
Such scenes are playing out across the northern Rocky Mountains as the growing wolf population once endangered leads to more and more conflict.Â
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