Wolves kill bird dog in Lincoln County
MADISON – Wolves attacked and killed a bird hunting dog April 7 in an area about nine miles west-south-west of Tomahawk in the Harrison Hills near the Otter Lake Campground in Lincoln County. The dog was one of four its owner was exercising in the area.
The depredation was verified by investigators of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services section.
A wolf pack has resided in the Harrison Hills area in recent years, according to Adrian Wydeven, a Department of Natural Resources mammalian ecologist at Park Falls who is in charge of the state’s wolf management program.
“It is highly unusual for wolves to attack bird dogs,” Wydeven notes. “But at this time of year it’s advisable for anyone working dogs in areas where wolves are found to check for wolf caution areas and take steps to avoid those areas.”
The reason for this attack, he said, may be that the wolves may have a den with newly born pups nearby and the dogs unwittingly ventured close to the den. Wolf pups are normally born in early or mid April in Wisconsin.
“In such circumstances the wolves would be protective of their pups and den and would be reluctant to flee from the area,” Wydeven said.
A wolf caution area has been established near the site to warn individuals to exercise greater caution if they train or run their dogs in this area. Pet owners will want to stay close to their dogs and maintain verbal contact with their dogs. Areas with lots of wolf activity (tracks and droppings) should be avoided.
The caution area is bounded on the north by County Highway D, on the east by County Highway D and State 17, on the south by Dudley Road and on the west by County Highway J, Grundy Road and County Highway H.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service removed wolves from the list of federal Endangered Species on March 12 of this year, and they are now managed by the Department of Natural Resources as a protected species. Anyone who believes he or she may have wolf depredations should contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services directly at 1-800-228-1368 in northern Wisconsin, or 1-800-433-0663 for central and southern Wisconsin..
In addition to the Lincoln County attack, on March 28, a landowner near Park Falls shot and killed a gray wolf, which he said was chasing his border collie. That landowner notified the DNR within 24 hours, as required by law.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrian Wydeven, Park Falls, (715) 762-1363
