The growth of gray wolves in Oregon slowed significantly in 2021, after at least 21 animals were killed by human poaching, vehicle collisions and lethal control by wildlife officials after conflicts with livestock.
The annual wolf count estimated a minimum of 175 wolves in Oregon, up just two animals from the 2020 count of 173 wolves, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The number of documented packs also decreased to 21, down from 22 the previous year, after the entire Catherine pack was found dead from the illegal poisoning of eight wolves last year in Eastern Oregon. A $50,000 reward was offered for information on the incident.
The number of breeding pairs of wolves was down to 16, from 17 in 2020.
It was the slowest rate of growth since 2016, which also saw an increase of just two wolves. That year, wolf officials blamed a particularly harsh winter for the slow increase, but there were also seven wolf deaths that year from unnatural causes including poaching, conflict and lethal action taken by Oregon officials.
ODFW did note that wolves expanded into four new areas of activity in Grant, Jefferson, Klamath and Union counties in 2021.
The count only captures wolves observed through visual observations, tracks and remote camera photographs; the actual number of wolves in Oregon is higher, officials stressed. Even so, compared to most previous years, an increase of just two animals stood out.
“The wolf count did not increase as much over the past year as in previous years, and a higher number of mortalities that included the loss of breeding adults certainly played a role,” Roblyn Brown, ODFW wolf biologist, said in a news release. “Despite this, we are confident in the continued health of the state’s wolf population as they expand in distribution across the state and show a strong upward population trend.”
The number of wolf attacks on livestock was up in 2021, including 49 confirmed incidents in 2021 versus 31 in 2020, ODFW said. Wildlife officials killed eight members of the Lookout Mountain Pack after the wolves chronically attacked nearby livestock, the agency said.
“After a calm spring with few incidents, we saw a much higher number of depredations from July through November despite livestock producers’ extensive non-lethal efforts to reduce conflict,” Brown said in a news release. “We thank all producers who have taken preventive measures and encourage all those in areas with wolves to reach out for assistance.”
“Most packs did not depredate in 2020,” ODFW added.
Brown said she was worried by the number of poaching incidents — particularly about the death of the entire Catherine pack.
“We hope that anyone with information will step forward, which can be done anonymously, and claim the preference points or the monetary reward offered which is now at $50,000 for the Catherine Pack.”
On Jan. 4, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delisted all gray wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act, including in the western two-thirds of Oregon where they had remained listed, leading ODFW to take all management authority for the year. ESA protections were restored in 2022 following a ruling by a federal judge in California and now ESA protections include wolves west of Highways 395-78-95, including all of Western Oregon.
“This report shows Oregon’s wolf population in crisis,” said Danielle Moser, wildlife program coordinator for conservation group Oregon Wild. “Human-caused mortality is the number one factor prohibiting wolf recovery. This report unequivocally demonstrates the consequences of politicians prematurely stripping endangered species protections from wolves.”
(Story continues below, wolf numbers year by year at bottom of page).
How did wolves die in 2021?
A total of 26 wolves died in 2021, including 23 in the eastern wolf management zone and three in the west.
Of those, 21 were human caused while an additional 5 were natural causes or unclear.
The human-caused deaths included:
⋅ Four wolves were killed by separate motor vehicle collisions on Highway 86 in Baker Co., Highway 58 in Klamath Co. and two-lane county roads in Klamath Co. and Umatilla Co.
⋅ An adult male wolf from the Balloon Tree Pack was shot by a livestock producer in February on private property near livestock. Oregon State Police interviewed the landowner and determined that charges were not warranted in the case.
⋅ ODFW lethally removed eight wolves from the Lookout Mountain Pack after the wolves chronically attacked nearby livestock.
⋅ Eight wolves were killed illegally by poison in 2021 in four different events in three separate locations in Union County. All five members of the Catherine Pack, including two that were radio-collared, died at the same time and location in February. A collared subadult female wolf that dispersed from the Keating Pack discovered the poison at that same location in March and died. A collared subadult male member in the Five Points Pack area died from poison in April. A collared subadult female member of the Clark Creek Pack died from poison in July near the pack’s rendezvous site.
Another five wolves died from possibly natural causes, although the cause is not always clear. The incidents include:
⋅ Both radio-collared breeders of the Heppner pack died in early 2021. The carcass of the female was located in February when the GPS collar finally downloaded 17 days after she died. The VHF-collared male was located at a different location in March. Veterinary pathologists were unable to determine the causes of their deaths.
⋅ In February, the heavily scavenged remains of an uncollared juvenile wolf were found in the area used during winter by both the Walla Walla and Noregaard packs. The cause of death was unknown, but there were minute indications on the computed tomography (CT) scan that may have been metal shrapnel from a bullet wound or bone fragments from scavenging. Ultimately the necropsy was inconclusive.
⋅ A collared 2-year-old female of the Middle Fork Pack was killed by other wolves in April. Wolves are territorial and intraspecific strife can occur where wolf packs overlap each other.
⋅ The collared breeding female of the Rogue Pack from 2014 to 2020 died in August. She was at least 9 years old and though the exact cause of death is unclear, it was believed to be an injury from natural causes.
Attacks on livestock
ODFW completed 90 investigations of dead or injured livestock in cases of suspected wolf depredation. Of those, 49 were confirmed as wolf depredation, compared to 31 in 2020.
Livestock producers were required to used non-lethal measures to minimize depredation prior to any department approval of wolf lethal removal.
ODFW approved killing eight wolves from the Lookout Mountain Pack in northeast Oregon. According to ODFW, the pack attacked livestock 12 times between July and October. The wolves attacked four yearling cows in a 14-day period. It was determined that appropriate non-lethal measures had been implemented but were unsuccessful, ODFW said.
“In August, the department removed two Lookout Mt wolves,” the wolf report says. “After the incremental removal proved ineffective, the department removed three more wolves in September and three more in October before the depredations stopped.”
The Oregon Department of Agriculture’s (ODA) compensation program awarded grants totaling $130,814 to 10 counties in 2021.
“The majority of funds were used for non-lethal preventative measures to reduce depredation and also for direct payment to livestock producers for confirmed depredations and missing livestock,” ODFW wrote.
Oregon wolf population over the years:
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2021: 175
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2020: 173
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2019: 158
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2018: 137
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2017: 124
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2016: 112
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2015: 110
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2014: 77
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2013: 64
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2012: 46
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2011: 29
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2010: 21
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2009: 13
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Wolves number about 175 after losses to poaching, other causes