Wolf Encounters Pt 1
I'm Bob Larson. It's a problem cattle ranchers are all too familiar with, but as the wolf population in Washington state grows, should we be worried about more encounters in the wild?Over the summer, a student researcher was rescued by helicopter after being treed by wolves in Okanogan County, raising the question will meetings like this become more common?
MALETZKE ... "So, I would anticipate sightings would go up, but I don't anticipate negative interactions with people. They're still going to be really, really rare."
Fish and Wildlife wolf specialist Ben Maletzke says wolves are less predictable than other wildlife ...
MALETZKE ... "You know, wolves are an animal that can move 20 miles today and they tend to line out down a road or trail system. I mean they aren't as cryptic as a cougar on the landscape and so you might see them driving your car or hiking down a road or you might see them utilizing a trail and catch a glimpse of them."
Maletzke says farmers are probably less likely than ranchers to have encounters with wolves ...
MALETZKE ... "Wolves are more up in the mountains and that's probably less likely to see them coming down into an orchard or into agricultural land, but it's possible if there's deer or a food source there you may see them from time to time. But yeah, just definitely be vigilant and just kind of keep your eyes open. Most of the time it's just going to be a sighting, you see them pass through and that's going to be the end of it."
Tune in tomorrow for more on the growing populations and what to look for.