A Flathead Valley houndsman reports that wolves killed one of his hounds and severely wounded another on a recent mountain lion hunt west of Kalispell.
Joe Kerney said he was on a hunt Dec. 31, when he released two grown hounds and a pup on a mountain lion track in the Rogers Lake area. After a chase of less than a mile, the hounds were baying.
"They went up this draw and it sounded like they had a cat treed," said Kerney, who was pursuing not far behind.
"All of a sudden, I heard a dog fight going on," he said.
As Kerney approached the noise, he saw "two dogs on a dead run toward me. There was something wrong, because they don't quit hunting."
Seeing that one of the dogs was hurt, Kerney continued moving up the draw. "I went looking for the third dog and I see the cat in the tree, but no dog anywhere."
As Kerney searched, he started spotting distinctive wolf tracks that he backtracked uphill to a ridge, where there was sign that wolves had been bedded down.
"You could see in the tracks that they heard the hounds coming up the draw and you could see where they made a direct bee line down to the dogs," he said.
Although the lost dog, Harley, had a transmitter collar, Kerney could not locate it immediately, so he left the area to take care of the wounded dog, Kimber.
"He's gonna' make it," Kerney said, noting that Kimber had suffered lacerations on his back and flanks.
Kerney later returned, tracking the transmitter signal, to find Harley's carcass.
"He was in a boulder field," Kerney said. "I knew where he was at, but it just took some time to find him. He was in four feet of snow … He had lacerations to his neck and his guts were torn open a little bit."
Kerney said he's been running hounds for five years, and although he has crossed wolf tracks many times before, he has never had an encounter with them.
"I cat hunt west of town every morning. I hunt all winter long and I know what's going on in those woods."
"I don't have any trouble believing him," said Kent Laudon, regional wolf management specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
"It sounds pretty classic what happened to Joe," he said. "They heard the barking and they head down. From their mind it's a territorial thing: they heard all this barking and they jumped out to confront it."
Laudon recalls a series of wolf attacks on hunting hounds in recent years in Idaho and one in Lincoln County. Montana's Ninemile Pack is believed responsible for killing two pet dogs.
"If you have dogs, the last thing you want to do is run them through a pack of wolves," Laudon said.
For that reason, houndsmen have learned how to work within an established pack's territory, Laudon said.
The wolf population has steadily grown in the Greater Yellowstone Area, while an eight-year mountain lion study carried on with the help of hounds.
"They had 150-plus lion captures in an area with a high density of wolves" and no confrontations between wolves and hounds, Laudon said.
The houndsmen involved in the study adjusted their tactics, avoiding areas when they knew wolves were around, and releasing their dogs only on fresh mountain lion sign for short chases.
Houndsmen in the Eureka area regularly communicate with each other about wolf activity, Laudon said, and have adopted similar techniques for hunting in a territory that has been occupied by the Murphy Lake Pack for the last 16 years.
"They get savvy," Laudon said. "They just kind of know where the wolves are."
Laudon said Kerney's encounter most likely involved the Hog Heaven Pack moving into the extreme northern end of its territory, which Laudon has roughly mapped by aerial monitoring of a wolf in the pack that's fitted with a radio collar.
The pack may be pushing north because of the relatively new Salish Pack that has established itself to the south, Laudon speculated.
Kerney said he was surprised to encounter wolves so close to homes in the Rogers Lake area.
"This was probably just 1,000 yards up the ridge," he said.
Wolves are "continuing to expand their range" in Northwest Montana, Laudon said.
In 2005, there were 12 known packs in Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region One, and there are 24 in 2007, Laudon said.
But that doesn't mean the number of packs actually doubled. Part of the increase can be attributed to packs that existed in 2005 but were only located because of increased monitoring efforts after Laudon was hired.
"I would say that six of the new packs 12 new packs are truly new, and three of the 12 were the result of increased monitoring success," he said, adding that he cannot speculate whether the remaining three packs were around in 2005 or not.
The numbers reflect a conservative count of confirmed packs, and there are almost certainly more packs on the landscape, said Laudon, who uses public reports to locate new packs in the spring.
Laudon urges the public to report sighting of wolves or wolf signs by calling him at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks regional headquarters in Kalispell at 752-5501.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com
Susan
Isn't "Wildlife Management" an oxyMORON?!!
jbdrs
This is a great story!! I used to live in the Flathead for about 15 years, until I moved away for a job a few years ago. I read the DI online quite often, and I love when I see a story like this. I love dogs, espescially my own, but I respect wolves a hell of a lot more. I understand that mountain lion hunters need dogs to track lions, because they are so elusive that human hunters are no match trying to track them on their own. I have no problem with mountain lion hunting and using dogs, because I know the FWP manages it well and tries to keep the cats out of the valley. But, I have to say that it warms my heart to see a wolf pack take a hunting dog or two that is after a lion. If you are a real hunter, you should also respect these hunters who live in the wild 24/7. While you're at home in comfort strategizing with your buddies, and your hunting dogs are eating dog chow, they are surviving where you could not.
james
A dead wolf is wonderful, our ancestors knew what they were doing when they got rid of this garbage of nature, we need to do the same thing and also get rid of the wolf lovers
Scott
How ironic the real story has different versions when talking to Joe and then talking with FWP Regional manager. Joe has claimed that these wolves are in Rogers Lake while FWP office claims that the report was a small DNR piece off Highway 2 on the opposite side of the highway from Rogers lake. Kent Laudon, regional wolf management specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks was informed last year that there are several packs working close to the town of Swan Lake, one in the porcupine drainage and one in the squeezer drainage. He wrote that off as them both being the same pack when in actuality we have video footage of fresh tracks in both drainages on the same morning in fresh snow from the evening prior. FWP will keep the public mis-informed to a certain extent. They are not about to let everyone know the real truth behind all the wolves that are out there.
Eric Bergman
It would be nice if they could get the wolves de-listed and open a hunting season on them. They are here, and most likely here to stay. Controlling them will be the challenge. I think FWP is way too restrictive on their proposed regulations. You can use electronic calls for coyotes and shoot them at night and we aren't short of coyotes, so why not the same rules for wolves? I'd also like to see the wolf tag made "retroactive," so anyone could shoot them where they find them and then take the head and hide in to FWP, pay a fee and keep it.
photoguy
WOW Kintla! I would say, for someone that rails against law enforcement and the Judicial system so much, posting threats in a public forums of this nature, might get you a visit or two with that you hate so much, quicker than you would ever know!
campo
All of 3 posts before someone starts crying about lion hunting, shocker!! You think it's just that easy? Can't wait to see the insert they are gonna need for all the editorials from all the transplanted Californicated bunny-hugging wolf-loving saps that are going to write in complaining about lion hunting and the pending wolf hunt. Get your popcorn ready.
Scott
funny how when someone prints the truth it gets deleted, hmmmmmm
srryder
It seems to me that memories are short. It wasn't many years ago that the wolves killed domesticated sheep on at least one farm in the Fortine/Trego area. Granted, yes, they are naturally prey, but the slaughter that was left was not the work of a hungry animal. The sheep were torn up and left, nothing was eaten. But it's ok for a wolf to attack another animal doing it's job? Also have any of you ever been stalked by a lion? Probably not, you would understand then the need for a hunting dog to track them.
photoguy
Scott, Nothing got deleted, I still see your message from this morning.
Doogie
Joe, sorry to hear about Harley, I hope Kimber and your other dog are alright
photoguy
STM, Care to disclose your source for that total number? I have heard between 1300 to 1500 total in all three states, but have not heard 1300 for each state, so your claiming 3900 total? that sounds a bit out of left field...
BettyBoop
This is a very sad thing that happened to the dog, but these domesticated were in the wolves back yard. All animals will natuarally defend there territory. This is where these animals live! Yes there may be a few to many and population control might be a good idea, but I fear people grabbing a gun and going off to "KILL WOLVES". These are beautiful animals, and without them MONTANA looses something we are known for. Our awesome wildlife!! WHATS NEXT??
MO
...they could not be managed. Without hunters like us in the woods, the FWP wouldn't have a way to successfully manage any wildlife as it cannot be done by sitting at a desk and/or once a week by looking at a tracking unit from a helicopter. It warms my heart that your job sounds like it is still going well...perhaps you won't be returning to the valley anytime soon. Best Regards
BettyBoop
YOU ARE IN THE ENVIROMENT THEY LIVE IN, IF THEY COME AFTER YOU,HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE YOUR WEAPON LOAED AND READY. IF YOU GO OUT WITH YOUR DOGS AND THEY GET ##%**^(%$# IT IS YOUR FAULT. MT LIONS AND WOLVES ARE PART OF MONTANA.