They’re here and they’ll keep coming
Wildlife Services talk focuses on wolves in the Big Horns
by Grant Smith, Buffalo Bulletin, April 21, 2010 [here]
Spurred by the devastating results of last summer when 113 sheep were killed by wolves in the Big Horn Mountains, Jim Pehringer with the USDA-Wildlife Services took the stage last Saturday night to make a plea to area ranchers.
“We want to hear from you,” Pehringer said. “You need to call us every time you see a wolf. We need your help to help you.”
Pehringer was on hand at a meeting scheduled by the Johnson County Animal Management Board to discuss the threat of wolves in the area and the proper steps toward identifying wolf kills and preventing livestock loss.
“Wolves are very transit and they never stop moving,” Pehringer said. “It doesn’t do a lot of good to argue whether they’re in the Big Horns or not. That argument’s been out there for 16 years. They’re here and they’ll keep coming. We have to focus on what to do with them.”
Pehringer, stationed in Cody, started his talk by highlighting his organization’s efforts in Park County.
“We have to go out and confirm that it was a loss to wolves, from there we get direction on what we can do,” Pehringer said. “In the last two years we’ve been able to go into areas with chronic killing and take out whole packs and it stopped the killing in that area.”
Throughout his talk, Pehringer continually stressed the importance of getting a confirmed kill in order for them to take action and curtail subsequent livestock losses.
“We have to prove it every time we do something,” Pehringer said. “That’s why it is important to know from you what wolves you’ve seen and what’s going on. We believe you but it doesn’t do any good unless we can confirm it.” … [more]