BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife officials say the Northern Rockies gray wolf population has decreased for the first time since the animal was reintroduced to the region 15 years ago.
A census of the endangered species released Friday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service showed the number of wolves fell by about 5 percent in 2010, to 1,651 animals.
Fewer wolves in Idaho accounted for the entire drop, as wolf numbers were up slightly in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington.
The decline is set against a backdrop of rising political pressure to allow more hunting of the predators, which have aggravated ranchers and sportsmen with attacks on livestock and big game herds.
The number of attacks on cattle was virtually unchanged. Sheep losses dropped sharply from 721 in 2009 to 245 last year.
