Wolf monitoring indicates pack is doing well

Wenatchee World article by KC Mehaffey on wildlife biologists and volunteers monitoring Washington state's first wolf pack. Quotes from Conservation Northwest's Jasmine Minbashian.

TWISP — Wildlife biologists and volunteers monitoring Washington state's first wolf pack near Twisp say the parents and pups appear to be doing well since the mother and father were captured, radio-collared and released back into the wild on July 18.

"There's not a lot to tell. We're in the early phases of monitoring to see how they responded after the capture," said Scott Fitkin, wildlife biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Fitkin said the adult wolves have stayed at the rendezvous site where a conservation group set up a remote camera that took pictures of six pups.

Jasmine Minbashian, special projects director for Conservation Northwest, said new photos were taken last week, showing the pack is staying in the same place. "They're still around, and they look really good. They look healthy," she said. A remote camera continues to capture photos of both adults and pups in the area between Twisp and Carlton.

She said one photo appears to be of a small adult, possibly a yearling wolf, indicating the pack may be larger than previously known. That adult was not captured or fitted with a radio collar, she said. DNA test results indicate the animals are purebred wolves, and likely came to Okanogan County from Canada.

Fitkin said he's heard mostly positive comments from local residents about the appearance of wolves. "Wolves tend to polarize. People are either really excited, or don't want them around at all," he said, adding, "Clearly, the majority of people I've talked to locally are really excited, and that includes people in the area where wolves have taken up residence."

Biologists will continue to track the wolves' movements using the information coming from radio collars and may soon begin work to look for a second pack of wolves, he said.

"I still suspect this is not the only wolf pack in the county," Fitkin said.