ODFW Called To Two Baker County Depredations In One Day

After a bit of a lull, wolf depredations have picked up in Oregon. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife crews were called to a pair of depredations in Baker County Monday May 2^nd.

The first case occurred after a livestock producer found two injured calves while on privately-owned pastureland near the town of Richland. The injuries on the two calves, one which was three weeks old, and the other eight weeks old, were estimated to be eight weeks old.

According to ODFW, Portions of the hide were shaved and examined.  One calf had bite scrapes up to 1 ½” long on the inside and outside back of the left rear leg with tooth punctures measuring up to 3/16” wide after partial healing.  The other calf had bite scrapes up to 1” long on the outside of the right rear leg and an infected wound with multiple bite punctures on the left rear hock, with associated tissue damage.  The size and location of the bite marks is consistent with wolf attack injuries on live calves.

Later that same afternoon, ODFW staff found a dead approximately 225 lb. calf in a 5,400 acre rangeland BLM grazing allotment. The carcass was largely consumed, but most of the hide was intact. The calf was estimated to have died one day prior to the investigation.

ODFW noted portions of the hide were shaved, and all remaining hide was skinned and examined. Pre-mortem bite scrapes were found on the outside and back of the right rear leg above the hock with underlying muscle tissue trauma up to one inch deep. There was also trauma to the right shoulder and throat. The location and depth of trauma is consistent with wolf attack injuries on calves this size.

Investigators say the Cornucopia Pack is responsible for all three attacks.

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