Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Are wolves on the prowl in Utah?

Are a growing number of wolves on the prowl in Utah? There's no exact figure for the number of wolves in the state, but recent sightings have some state officials on alert. "We're very concerned about the wolves coming to Utah," says Leonard Blackham, Utah Commissioner for Agriculture and Food. "Of course the last couple of months we've seen several come into the state of Utah and some damage done, and we're starting to have some serious challenges that way." Blackham says wolves are making their way into Utah, the animals seem to be slowly penetrating through our northern border. Idaho and Wyoming are known to hold a heavy wolf population. "It could become a safety concern for ranchers and recreation people if the numbers increase, but i think today its not," says Blackham, "but it's surely a challenge for livestock and livestock producers. they are very aggressive animals." Blackham says it doesn't look like there's a pack, yet, in Utah, just single animals. But, in the last few weeks there have been at least three incidents with wolves here in Utah. One of those incidents happened just last friday where a wolf was taken out in summit county after killing thousands of dollars worth of livestock...more

No comments: