ODFW Confirms Depredation in Umatilla County

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife crews were called to a depredation in the Coyote Canyon area of Umatilla County earlier this week.

On Monday, a sheep herder found a dead 180- pound ewe and a dead 70-pound lamb in a 5,000-acre private-land pasture about one mile from the herder’s camp, where the sheep had been bedded for the night. The ewe had been mostly consumed while the lamb was entirely intact.

Both sheep were estimated to have died within 24 hours of discovery.

Both carcasses were shaved, skinned, and examined. There were multiple bite punctures and pre-mortem hemorrhaging on both sheep indicating that they had been attacked by a predator. The ewe had pre-mortem tooth punctures up to 5/16” diameter on the neck with pre-mortem hemorrhaging in the remaining muscle tissue. The lamb had numerous ¼" pre-mortem bite punctures and multiple tears in the hide on the neck, throat, and left hindquarter above the hock. Trauma to the neck penetrated to the bone on both sides and dislocated the neck. Pre-mortem hemorrhage on the left hindquarter was up to 1/2" deep.

ODFW said the severity and location of injuries to these sheep is consistent with wolf attacks on sheep. This depredation has been attributed to the Ukiah Pack.

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