Additional Depredations Attributed To Oregon’s Balloon Tree Pack

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says the Balloon Tree Pack remains very active in Union County. Investigators were called out by a goat owner in the Cabin Creek area after one goat was found dead and another was found injured Saturday morning. That same owner reported additional goats attacked Sunday morning, leaving four dead and two injured.

One carcass was intact, one carcass had been entirely scavenged except for the spine and portions of the left hind and front legs, and the other three carcasses were mostly intact with scavenging on the abdomen and hindquarters. One 50 lb. female yearling had an injured right hindquarter and a second 50 lb. female yearling had an injured left hind leg.  One 130 lb. adult female had a large open wound between her hind legs. The goats were injured/killed during two events, one estimated to have occurred approximately 36 hours and another 60 hours prior to the investigation.

The five deceased goats were shaved, skinned, and examined. Tooth punctures 3/16-1/4” in diameter with corresponding pre-mortem hemorrhage and tissue trauma with depth ranging from 1” to greater than 2” were observed.  Pre-mortem injuries were found on the throat, hindquarters above hocks, near elbows, and on the back. The three live goats had injuries to the hindquarters. One of these goats had at least two approximately 1/8” diameter tooth punctures on the right hind leg above the hock, and a second goat had an open wound measuring 3” x 1.5” x 1” deep just below the vulva. The size, location, and severity of injuries are consistent with wolf depredations.

GPS location data places a radio collared wolf within the same pasture and in an two immediately adjacent pasture around both estimated times of injury/death. Both depredation events are attributed to the Balloon Tree Pack.

The Balloon Tree Pack is responsible for a host of NE Oregon depredations over the past couple of months.

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