S. Oregon rancher frustrated by wolf attacks
FORT KLAMATH, Ore. — A rancher who had two steers killed and a third seriously injured by wolves earlier this month is frustrated by the lack of protections and other impacts on raising cattle in the Wood River Valley.
“This valley, with so many cattle, is going to be like a smorgasbord for the wolves. They’ll take the animals that put up the least resistance,” said Bill Nicholson, third generation owner of the Nicholson Ranch, where the three wolf attacks took place. They have been verified by state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists.
During the spring and summer, upwards of 35,000 head of cattle are trucked to the valley to graze on the nutrient-rich grasslands. Most have now been trucked out of the area to winter grazing areas, predominately in far Northern California.
Nicholson said there are still about 300 to 400 steers on his ranch and estimates about 5,000 cows, calves and yearlings are still in the enclosed valley.
While the focus has been on the wolf killing, Nicholson said a potentially more serious problem stems from stress caused by attacks.
“You’re losing a lot of pounds with the stress,” he said. “Cattlemen estimate the average steer will gain about 3 to 4 pounds a day feeding on irrigated pasture known for its nutritious blend of sedges, rushes, grasses, forbes and clover.”
Because of the presence of wolves, Nicholson and Butch Wampler, who oversees the ranch’s cattle, say the cattle have been remaining in groups, often standing through the night.
“The stress on the herd is another factor, and probably more costly,” said Nicholson, noting stress impacts weight gains and could reduce values for leased lands.
Recommended methods of reducing or eliminating wolf attacks, including special fencing, strobe lights and more frequent patrols, also increase costs, although the state pays some of them.
Wampler discovered the steers that had been attacked.
On Oct. 5, concerned about possible attacks, he was in his pickup truck using his headlights and spotlight when he heard a bawling calf. Although unable to find the calf, he found a large group of cattle.
“They were all standing in a big circle. They should have been bedded down,” he said.
The next morning, he found the calf, which weighed 458 pounds.
“You could see the tooth marks,” he said.
Biologists removed some of the hide, which Wampler said exposed deep wounds in its legs. The calf is still alive but doing poorly.
“He’s pretty crippled,” Nicholson said.
Wampler, who had seen three wolves on a neighbor’s field in mid-September, said he was riding to his home Oct. 2 when he found a dead 800-pound steer, then “I saw this wolf take off toward the fence.” He then spotted a second wolf.
A day later he saw three wolves feeding on the carcass.
On Oct. 4 he found a second dead 600-pound steer.
“His stomach was ripped open. ... His heart, lungs and liver, they were all gone.” Wampler and Nicholson called the Oregon State Department Fish and Wildlife’s Klamath Falls office, which immediately sent out two biologists who confirmed both as wolf kills.
“I give the Fish and Wildlife people credit. They were right here,” Nicholson said.
John Stephenson, wolf coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said it’s believed the attacks were by the Rogue Pack, which is known to be in the area. No verification could be made because no wolves in the pack wear radio monitoring collars.
“There is a chance it is not (the Rogue pack), but we believe it was,” Stephenson said.
Nicholson said he was told that wolves bite cattle, which causes them to hemorrhage.
“They (the cattle) go into shock. They’re still alive but the wolf eats them until they die,” he said. “They (wolves) go right inside to the chest cavity and the first thing they eat are the heart and the lungs.”
Wolves have been seen in the Wood River Valley since the appearance of the wolf OR-7 in 2011. It was known to have returned to Southern Oregon in 2014, mated with a female wolf and they have since had several offspring in what is known as the Rogue Pack.
“I personally don’t think those are the first wolf kills in the valley,” Nicholson said, noting a neighboring rancher said the recent killings follow patterns seen in a steer death that was not reported to state officials last year.
He and Wampler said no wolf sightings have been reported since, possibly because of the presence of elk hunters.
“I think for the most part they (wolves) are pretty leery of people. It seems like they disappeared for now,” Wampler said, adding, “They will come back, that’s just a given.”