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Wolves claim pet lama |
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By SHERRY DEVLIN of the
Missoulian
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was in "lethal control mode" in the Ninemile Valley on Wednesday night, after wolves apparently killed a pasturing llama. It was the fifth pet llama killed by wolves in the valley northwest of Missoula this year - a statistic that wolf recovery coordinator Ed Bangs said begs a response. "The right solution here is to look at something longer term, where we can have both domestic animals and wildlife," Bangs said. "We can't just keep sticking vulnerable animals out there and having them attacked and then killing the predators. "We have to fix this thing for the long term." The latest llama killed was owned by Ninemiler Geri Ball, who lost another of her show animals in April and had a third seriously injured. Ball said she's frustrated by the attacks, which she blames on the size of the Ninemile wolf pack. "There's 10 or 11 wolves up here, that's the problem," she said. "Until they cut the pack down, everybody's going to have problems." Four llamas were in the pasture about two miles up the valley from Ball's home when the attack occurred about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. "The neighbors called and said the llamas were screaming," Ball said. "We went down at daybreak, and Ullaula was dead." The llama was a 6-year-old female used for shows and as a pack animal. A "guard llama" tried to protect the female, but was no match for the wolf, Ball said. "He's still down there in the field humming. He knows something is wrong." A Wildlife Services agent spent much of the afternoon Wednesday trying to determine - for sure - if wolves were to blame. "I'm assuming it was wolves," Bangs said, "although lions kill llamas left and right." If wolves were responsible for the kill, Bangs said traps would be set in the pasture and agents would be on orders to kill up to two uncollared wolves. "We are in lethal control mode for a couple of wolves," he said. "Hopefully, we'll just pick them off and get rid of that behavior." Federal agents also killed wolves after the earlier llama depredations. "All I can imagine is that llamas must be good eating," Bangs said Wednesday. "The wolves just keep coming back to them. We've had wolves in the Ninemile since 1990, but this llama thing just started a couple of years ago." If the traps catch pups born to the Ninemile pack this year, the young animals will be fitted with radio collars and released, Bangs said. Any wolves already wearing radio collars also will be released - as wildlife officials can find them fairly easily, if need be. "But the main thing we need to do is to meet with Geri and talk about long-term solutions," Bangs said. "We need to work with her to get better fencing or something. We can't just have vulnerable animals standing out there, waiting to be killed." Even before this week's incident, the Fish and Wildlife Service and Defenders of Wildlife had asked a contractor to work with Ball to find a better fencing plan for her animals. "People do this for bears all the time," Bangs said. "The sheep guys have better fences, too." "Predator control is part of our program, but the long-term solution is to protect the livestock and pets," he said. "There's nothing more aggravating than to lose an animal you like. The livestock loses. The livestock owner loses. And the wildlife eventually loses. And in 10 years, you're exactly where you are today." Ball said she's willing to work with the government, but doubts that fences will stop wolves. "These wolves came up from the creek bottom," she said. "The llamas were in a field with a woven wire fence. We talked to several wolf specialists already, and they said an 8-foot-high fence would be a joke for a wolf. How high can you build a fence? I just don't think it will work."
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