SPOKANE — State wildlife officials had to capture and spay an endangered female gray wolf after she hooked up with a domestic guard dog in Pend Oreille County.
The Spokesman-Review reported Wednesday the wolf was one of two females in the Ruby Creek Pack that biologists have been tracking with GPS collars since July.
Biologists learned that a sheep dog climbed a 7-foot-tall fence from its yard near Ione and disappeared with the two female wolves in January and February, when wolves go into heat.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife says breeding occurred and one of the female wolves became pregnant.
