Dead calf found, attributed to a wolf depredation in Wallowa County
By Paul Hall on Thursday, September 9th, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
WALLOWA COUNTY – (Information provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) General situation and animal information: On the morning of 9/3/21, a hunter found a dead, eight month-old, 650-700 lb. calf in a 15,000-acre forested private-land allotment in the Deer Creek area in Wallowa County. The carcass was intact with approximately 50% of the tissue consumed. The calf was estimated to have died within 48 hours of the investigation.
Physical evidence and summary of findings: The carcass was shaved and skinned. There were several pre-mortem bite scrapes up to 1/4” wide on the remaining hide of the left hind leg above the hock, both front legs near the elbows, and throat. Pre-mortem hemorrhaging and/or trauma was found on the remaining muscle tissues of the right rear leg above the hock, elbows, back, and throat. The size of tooth scrapes and location of injuries is similar to other confirmed wolf attacks on calves. A GPS location from a radio-collared Clark Creek wolf around the time of the calf’s death was within 200 yards of the carcass. The depredation is attributed to the Clark Creek Pack.
