Federal officials kill wolf OR158 after at least 8 cattle attacks in Lake County

Federal officials killed an endangered gray wolf in Lake County Wednesday that had been attacking cattle in the area. It was a wolf also known to traverse in parts of Central Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said OR158, a collared wolf, was killed after multiple attempts at non-lethal methods to stop it. Concerns had been raised about public safety and that killing the wolf was “a last resort.”

ODFW said the removal of the wolf came after eight confirmed attacks and four probable attacks attributed to OR158.

KDRV in Medford reported that ranchers had been working with state and federal agencies since Jan. 31 to protect their cattle from OR158. Rancher Tom Flynn of Valley Falls said OR158 killed a five-day-old calf on his ranch. When wildlife officials arrived the next day to scare off the wolf, OR158 had killed two calves at another ranch nearby.

OR158’s known areas of travel included eastern Deschutes and southern Crook counties.

Here is the full statement from ODFW:

Today, federal officials lethally removed an endangered gray wolf, OR158, following multiple unsuccessful attempts at non-lethal deterrence and increasing concerns about public safety and was taken as a last resort. The removal of an endangered gray wolf aligns with federal regulations under the authority of 50 CFR17.21(c)(3)(iv), which provides for removing animals listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act that constitute a demonstrable but non-immediate threat to human safety.

This lethal removal followed 8 confirmed depredations and 4 probable depredations attributed to the wolf, extensive unsuccessful attempts at non-lethal deterrence (including range riders, spotlighting, pasture monitoring, fox lights, air cannons, non-lethal projectiles, carcass removal and drones with thermal optics), and increasing concerns about public safety. You can read the deterrence plan for OR158 to learn more about how ODFW and the other agencies had been working with producers to utilize non-lethal methods.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and USDA Wildlife Services will continue working with all parties to ensure producers have the best tools in hand, as well as agency support and resources, to prevent and respond to wolf conflict before it escalates. Catching a wolf in the act of approaching livestock and applying deterrents at that time remains the most effective.