Reintroduction of wolves (Canis lupus) is a hot button issue throughout the United States and much of the world. Oregon may be the state with the least tolerance as killers have slaughtered wolves twice in recent years. This time dead Oregon wolves are prompting not only a search for the killers but a$50,000 reward.
Wolves were common in the United States until the first third of the 20th Century. The predators were reduced to remnant populations. But a change in law and attitudes has resulted in re-introduction in much of the west. California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and now Colorado are among the states with resident populations. But the return has not been without controversy as wolf haters have been active.
According to The Tennessean the reward is 10 times bigger than previous rewards. Three wolves were found dead last December. Two were collared for study and the collars emitted mortality signals. The third wolf was not collared. The wolves were part of the Gearhart Mountain pack. Seven survivors are being monitored.
According to The Tennessean:
“Federal authorities are asking the public for information that could help uncover how three endangered gray wolves died in Oregon.
The three wolves were found dead late last year and are the latest gray wolf deaths to be investigated in the state.
A $50,000 reward will be given to anyone who can provide information that leads to an arrest, or charges or fines over the wolf deaths, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday. The reward money is 10 times larger than other rewards for information on previous wolf deaths, according to news releases from Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.
One of the three dead wolves was the breeding female for the wolves’ pack, authorities said. Gray wolves − which were first labeled an endangered species in the 1970s − typically live in packs where only one male-female pair produces pups, according to the U.S. National Park Service.” (Links in original).
Dead Oregon wolves have been in the news before. Several years ago eight wolves were poisoned. The cause of death for the three killed in December has not been announced, In the last incident a $26,000 reward was offered.