Wolf attack on livestock in Southern Oregon confirmed

The wolf OR25 attacked three cattle in Klamath County last weekend, killing one and wounding two others, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed.

The incident marks the first example of wolf depredation in Southern Oregon and the most western case of depredation since the animals were reintroduced to Idaho in 1996 and began spreading across the West.

ODFW spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy said the agency would work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on nonlethal preventative measures to guard against future attacks.

Wolves are protected by the state and federal Endangered Species Act in the western two-thirds of Oregon, including the area where the incident took place.

OR25 is a male wolf that dispersed from the Imnaha Pack in March of 2015, traveling through the Columbia Basin, Blue Mountains and down the Cascade Range before establishing northeast of Chiloquin.

Beginning on Oct. 31, a livestock producer in Klamath County found injured or dead cattle on three consecutive mornings.

The report by ODFW said the tooth marks and tissue damage indicated a wolf attack. It also noted that GPS radio-collar location data for OR25 showed five instances where he was near or at the calf carcass between Oct. 28 and Nov. 2.

“Both injured calves had massive tissue damage to both hind legs consisting of swollen, torn muscle and tendons, bite marks, and bite scrapes above the hocks,” said a report on the incident by ODFW. “Very little remained of the dead calf for examination.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guides response to wolf-livestock conflict in this area.