BUTTE FALLS, Ore. — The killing of a cow calf last week at a Butte Falls-area ranch has been blamed on the Rogue Pack, in part because of data from a recently collared female member of wolf OR-7’s family.
The 250-pound calf was found dead Thursday morning by rancher Ted Birdseye on his 276-acre ranch near Medco Pond.
Wolf tracks in the chase area and the sizes of tooth scrapes and bites on the carcass led to the case being labeled as a wolf kill, according to a livestock investigation report by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists.
Fresh wolf tracks were observed around the carcass and throughout the pasture, the report states.
Global-positioning system data from a collar worn by OR-54, a young female in the Rogue Pack, showed it was less than a mile away from the carcass earlier in the day the dead calf was found, the report states.
OR-54, who likely is a female from OR-7’s 2016 litter, was captured and collared Oct. 3, in Klamath County’s Wood River Valley, the eastern portion of the Rogue Pack’s home range, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
It’s the first GPS data collected on the Rogue Pack since OR-7’s GPS collar failed two years ago.
GPS data also show that OR-54 was within two miles of the carcass throughout late Wednesday and early Thursday, the report states.
