The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is investigating two suspected wolf poaching incidents that occurred in November.
The wolves were both females.
One was killed in Ferry County, the carcass was found Dec. 5 by department personnel about 15 miles southwest of Republic. This wolf appears to be a roamer from the Profanity Peak pack, most of which was killed off by WDFW in 2016.
The second wolf was found on Nov. 12 about 10 miles southeast of Colville in Stevens County. This wolf is believed to be a member of the Dirty Shirt pack.
According to state officials, the wolves were collared by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The collar on the wolf found in Ferry County had stopped working and wildlife officers checked the last known coordinate. The collar stopped transmitting location data in early November.
They found the wolf shot dead.
“This is beyond sad and disappointing. We work so hard on a fair wolf recovery process that includes everyone so that there's local acceptance. So many interests have put so much into this effort. But one bad apple can do so much damage. It's an unjust irony that the term 'lone wolf' is applied to mass shooters,” said Conservation Northwest Executive Director Mitch Friedman.
WDFW Police Capt. Dan Rahn says both investigations remain active, and the department encourages anyone who might have relevant information to contact WDFW at 877-933-9847 or 360-902-2936.
Conservation Northwest, one of the groups that partners with WDFW on wolf conservation and management, has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to convictions in these cases.
