Wolf Collared in Skagit County Pt 2

Wolf Collared in Skagit County Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. A lone, male wolf was captured, collared, and released in eastern Skagit County recently, the first such catch west of the Cascades.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf coordinator, Donny Martorello says it's a likely sign, not surprisingly, that wolves are expanding their range across the state ...

DONNY MARTORELLO ... "Wolves are radiating out of where they were originally translocated to in Central Idaho and Yellowstone. That population just continues to expand. It expanded into Eastern Washington and now we're seeing wolves from Eastern Washington expand westward. So, it's predictable. We've actually had dispersing animals in Western Washington before, but this is the first time we've captured and collared a wolf in Western Washington."

Martorello says it's still too early to tell exactly what this means ...

DONNY MARTORELLO ... "This is either a dispersing animal that has come from another pack somewhere, whether that's Washington, or BC, or potentially it could even be Oregon, or if this animal is part of a pack. And so, right now, biologists are watching that data from the collared wolf every day. It'll take a few weeks to determining if that animal kind of has stability in that sight, which would suggest that wolf is settling in and maybe running with other wolves. Or we may see that this animal continues to disperse, so time will tell.

Martorello says it's the first capture, but not the first sighting. A female wolf was struck by a car and killed on I-90 in North Bend in 2015. And last year, a wolf wearing a GPS collar crossed the Cascades into Snohomish County when the transmission stopped.

Previous ReportWolf Collared in Skagit County Pt 1
Next ReportFirst Depredation of 2017 Pt 1