Domestic wolf brings headaches in Idaho
By JOHN MILLER - Associated Press Writer
Edition Date: 11/29/07
Law enforcement officers in southwestern Idaho have been told by federal wildlife managers not to shoot a domesticated wolf that’s been killing and maiming livestock for a month, for fear they might mistakenly kill one of the roughly 800 federally protected wild wolves that roam the state.
The adult wolf, which weighs as much as 180 pounds, escaped Oct. 29 from its pen in Owyhee County on the southern bank of the Snake River.
Virtually all federally protected wolves are in the Idaho mountains north of the river.
Still, Sheriff Gary Aman said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials advised him to hold his fire, for now - in the rare event that one of the protected animals swam the waterway and has taken up residence in his remote region of sagebrush, rattlesnakes and just 11,000 people.
“There could be a one-in-a-million possibility that this could be one of their other animals,” Aman told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “It’s maddening. This is a very, very aggressive, vicious animal. It’s used to being around humans, it depends on humans for food and it’s been out for almost a month.”… [more]