TWISP — One or more packs of gray wolves may be living in north-central Washington’s Methow Valley, which would make them the first resident population of the endangered species in Washington state since before 1930, a state biologist says.
“There’s certainly a distinct possibility that we actually have some wolves here, and they may be reproducing,” said Scott Fitkin, wildlife biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in Winthrop.
Packers have made numerous reports of wolves in the high country in the past couple of years, and residents have made increasing reports in lower elevations, he said.
Fitkin said his agency is reviewing two photographs and hopes to gather hair samples or feces to confirm through genetic analysis that the animals seen in areas between the Twisp River and Libby Creek, about 50 miles north of Wenatchee, are gray wolves.
The wolves captured on film have a brown color to their coat, causing biologists to wonder if they might be hybrid wolves that have bred with dogs or coyotes. However, some gray wolves in British Columbia also have a similar tawny-brown color mixed in with their black, gray and white fur, he said.
Wolves are about four times as large as coyotes, with a male generally weighing 100 pounds or more.
Fitkin said photographs have confirmed the presence of gray wolves in northeastern Washington, but those wolves would not be endangered. In March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the gray wolf from the endangered list in Washington state east of Highway 97 because recovered populations in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are expected to repopulate that area of the state.
They are still considered endangered in north-central Washington. By 1930, wolves were completely killed off in Washington state, through shooting, trapping, poisoning and government bounties, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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