Joseph rancher reports another wolf attack

Joseph rancher Tom Schaafsma discovered a slaughtered calf in his cow-calf pasture Thursday, May 13, and has reported it as a wolf attack. The calf has been examined by wolf program coordinator Russ Morgan of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, but the agency has not yet confirmed the kill as wolf predation. Wallowa County Sheriff Fred Steen reported that wolves were back out near the calves that same evening and ranchers who had come to assist Schaafsma were able to haze the wolves back into the timber. The wolves were back again within a few hours. Schaafsma, who had been provided with a radio receiver to monitor the collared wolves was able to identify one of the wolves as the alpha male of the Imnaha pack, Steen said. Given the fact that the wolves were seen in the area for three days preceding the kill and continued to enter the pasture after the kill, Steen said he was surprised by the agency's reluctance to confirm the kill. "We don't need this nonsense," he said. "They're right in the middle of the damn herd of cows. They've obviously found a food source. This is something our producers don't need."...more