Despite taking non-lethal measures to try to haze wolves from his property, a rancher in southwest Oregon lost one of his calves to wolves. It is the first confirmed Oregon depredation of livestock in 2018.
“We knew wolves were out here,” Ted Birdseye, a rancher in Jackson County, told the Capital Press. “They are major apex predators, and eat a lot of meat,”
Birdseye used a combination of flagging on his fencing and flashing lights to try to keep wolves off his property. Instead, he found a 250-pound calf dead and half eaten on his ranch.
According to the Capital Press, GPS collar data shows a female member of the Rogue pack was less than a mile from the dead calf the morning it was found. Investigators also documented numerous wolf tracks and bite marks consistent with a wolf attack.
“They (wolves) still fascinate me, but I have to make a living and the way I do that is by selling these calves,” said Birdseye.
(Photo source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)