DNR: State wolf population could be leveling off
By The Associated Press

Estimates over the winter showed Wisconsin's gray wolf population to be about the same size as it was a year earlier, indicating the rapid rise in wolf numbers in recent years may be leveling off, state game managers said.

The Department of Natural Resources estimated there were between 537 and 564 wolves in the state, based on aerial tracking of radio-collared wolves, snow track surveys by DNR personnel and volunteers and wolf sightings by the public.
The estimate a year earlier was between 540 and 577 wolves.

DNR wolf specialist Adrian Wydeven said the growth in wolf numbers appears to be slowing down or leveling off as the population approaches the maximum number of wolves that the heavily forested areas of the state can support comfortably.

The gray wolf was wiped out in the state by the late 1950s after decades of bounty hunting, but once they were granted protection in the 1970s under the Endangered Species Act, wolves began migrating into the state from Minnesota. The population has been growing ever since.

Wolf management policies changed somewhat after March 12, 2007, when wolves in Wisconsin were removed from the list of federally endangered and threatened species, allowing for more aggressive action to control wolves that attack livestock or pets.

Among results from the DNR's update today:

Wolves killed livestock on a record 30 farms last year, up from 25 in 2006.

Wildlife Services staff from the U.S. Department of Agriculture did trapping on most of the Wisconsin farms hit by wolf depredation in 2007, capturing and killing 37 wolves and one wolf dog hybrid.

The DNR issued shooting permits to 25 landowners with recent wolf problems, but no wolves were shot on these permits.

Three landowners shot wolves in the act of attacking pets or livestock on their property without permits after wolves were removed from federal protection. Landowners or renters of land are allowed to shoot wolves in the act of attacking pets or livestock. They are required to contact their local conservation warden within 24 hours.

143 wolf packs with at least two adults each were detected in Wisconsin. Biologists found 21 packs across central Wisconsin and 122 packs in northern Wisconsin.

The largest packs were the Beaver Dam Lake and Shanagolden packs in Ashland County, with 7-8 and 7-9 wolves respectively, and the Wintergreen Pack in Price County with 8 wolves. At least 33 packs had 5 or more wolves.

Regarding the apparent leveling off of wolf numbers, Wydeven said pup production in packs in the north seemed down based on last summer's howl surveys.

He also said a new type of mange, Demodectic mange, had been detected in a Wisconsin wolf last fall. Only Sarcoptic mange had been found previously.

Mange is a skin disease caused by a burrowing mite that results in a loss of fur, which can lead to death by exposure in winter.

The DNR said several radio-collared wolves died from severe mange over winter, suggesting the disease may have become more widespread in the state's wolves.

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