Wolf killed in southeastern Montana had traveled far

Rancher & 98 lbs.  wolf

In what is the first documented wolf incident in far southeastern Montana since reintroduction, a male black wolf was shot by a Hammond-area rancher Sunday after it attacked his sheep. The 2-1/2-year old wolf was far from home — 300 miles by air. That’s not unusual, said Mike Jimenez, wolf recovery project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Wyoming. “It’s a prime age for dispersal,” Jimenez said, as a male seeks a breeding partner. Although the average distance that wolves will go when seeking a mate is closer to 50 to 65 miles, one wolf in 2008 traveled roughly 3,000 miles in a journey from near Bozeman to Vail, Colo. Others have been documented traveling from Idaho to Oregon and from Montana to British Columbia. “They’re impressive when they get a mind to move,” Jimenez said. The 98-pound wolf killed near Hammond had been collared last winter north of Jackson, Wyo., as a member of the Gros Ventre wolf pack...more