Wolves kill 19 elk on Bondurant feeding ground

Wyoming Game and Fish confirms an unusual wolf kill on a herd of elk near Bondurant.

It happened on the McNeil Feedground on the Bridger Teton National Forest overnight Wednesday.

Regional Wildlife Supervisor John Lund said wolves killed 19 elk overnight Wednesday, including 17 calves and two cows. Lund said that while large wolf kills like this are not common, wildlife managers haven’t seen anything of this level on a feeding ground.

The area has been subject to fairly constant wolf depredation throughout the winter.

According to the Wyoming Hunter Defense Fund the wolves tore out the fetuses of the cows. They were left uneaten, but simply left to die.

The Fund said wolves have killed nearly 70 elk on the McNeil Feed Ground alone this winter.

But, because Wyoming’s wolf management plan is tied up in court, Wyoming Game and Fish has few management options. “We can’t do anything to address it, “said Lund, “which is frustrating for wildlife managers as well as sportsmen.”

He said Game and Fish is looking for remedies and other options to deal with the wolf depredation problem there.

Editorial Note: Lund was originally quoted as saying large kills like this were “not uncommon”, it should have read, as edited, “not common”.