Four dogs killed by wolves as bear hunters begin to train hounds
PARK FALLS
Wolves have killed four dogs and injured five others since the bear hound training period opened July 1, officials with the state Department of Natural Resources report.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services confirmed the wolf attacks. They took place west of Rhinelander in Oneida County, south and west of Neillsville in Clark County, east of Clam Lake in Ashland County and north of Argonne in Forest County. Three of the dogs killed were hunting hounds, the fourth was a pet that wandered away from its home in an area where hunting hounds are trained. All five of the injured dogs were bear hunting dogs.
Adrian Wydeven, DNR mammalian ecologist, said wolves have pups in rendezvous sites at this time of the year. It is probable the wolves were protecting their young.
We ask bear hunters to exercise greater caution and avoid training or hunting near known wolf den sites, hunters should be familiar with caution area maps on the DNR wolf web site, Wydeven said. All packs involved with dog incidents likely produced pups this spring.
Hunters may train dogs by pursuing bear from July 1 to August 31 each year. The gray wolf currently is listed as a federally endangered species and persons convicted of killing a wolf are subject to possible jail time and fines.
Caution area maps can be found on the DNR Web site.
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/mammals/wolf/dogdepred.htm#CautionFOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrian Wydeven, DNR mammalian ecologist, 715-762-1363 or Ed Culhane, DNR communications, Eau Claire, 715-839-3715
