Cheyenne—Officials with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department say the state’s first wolf hunting season is going smoothly, and that wolf harvest has been evenly distributed throughout the Wolf Trophy Game Management Area (WTGMA) and Seasonal Wolf Trophy Game Management Area (SWTGMA).
As of November 13, 34 wolves had been reported harvested in the WTGMA and SWTGMA—the total quota for these areas is 52. Three of the 12 hunt areas within the WTGMA have been closed because individual quotas in those areas have been reached. Wolf seasons in the areas that remain open will close on December 31 or when the quota for an individual area is reached. An additional 16 wolves had been reported taken in other areas of the state.
According to WGFD’s Large Carnivore Section Supervisor Mark Bruscino, hunters throughout the state have been very cooperative in reporting their wolf harvests and in bringing their animals in for the collection of genetic samples and other data.
Bruscino also indicated that wolf harvest has been evenly distributed throughout the WTGMA and SWTGMA with harvest in many different packs. “No one pack is bearing a disproportionate amount of the harvest,” he said.
“Wyoming’s first wolf hunting season is a conservative approach to wolf management in northwest Wyoming,” said Bruscino. “It is designed to help reduce the population slightly while keeping it well above the minimum required to ensure that wolves remain off the Endangered Species list in Wyoming. By all indications, we can call the wolf hunting season a success to this point and expect it to continue to be successful.”
The WGFD is also mounting an aggressive monitoring program, which includes capturing and collaring wolves, to ensure accurate estimates of Wyoming’s wolf population and genetic interchange among wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain region.
Source: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Posted by Haylie Shipp
