So far, the month has been going fairly smoothly with the project, and this week started off simple enough. Little did I know how hectic everything was going to get.
To begin, I brought out Darío a sleeping mat via mountain bike and checked-in with him. So far, no wolves had visited him or his sheep, although he keeps seeing a bear hanging around the band and visiting his camp. He had been sounding off the air horn and his rifle occasionally to scare off any other creatures that might be nearby.
Camera placed near the area that wolves had potentially attacked sheep
Quickly after this easy start with Darío, a week of pure adrenaline started. I went out to check a camera along a trail north of Ketchum, where I found Doroteo and Elvis at the trailhead. They had just moved camp and were on their way from the valley floor to high in the mountains. We started to chat, and as talked they mentioned that they had lost four sheep a week ago. Oh no. Here we go. Although I didn’t want to assume it was wolf, typically wolves kill all at once in larger numbers than other predators. Bears, coyotes, and mountain lions generally only take one or two sheep at a time, while wolves can kill large numbers in a single night. As they are scavengers as well as predators, this allows them in nature to return to a kill over and over again to eat for longer periods. A bit of anxiety coursed through my veins as I thought about the fact that these sheep had been dead for a week and I hadn’t known about it.
Well, first things first. I had to find those sheep and see if I could see any sign of predators nearby. As a project, we try to document as much as we possibly can about every depredation that occurs to learn about what caused the loss and how it can best be prevented again in the future.
Normally, I can smell out a dead sheep, but this day the strong winds made it near impossible to smell anything. A vulture overhead taunted me with the secret location that he clearly knew. Instead of wasting time here looking for a needle in a haystack, I headed up to check my camera. Unfortunately, there was nothing there that could help.
Leaving the search for the dead sheep behind turned out to be the right decision. Heading down the trail, I turned a corner to see a black bear running across a field of sage, throwing a piece of sheep up in the air and catching it. It ran back and forth, standing up to look around for any incoming trail traffic, then proceeding to chow down. I stood probably 50 feet from it, and it didn’t notice me. I suspect the violent wind thrashing the valley scattered my scent enough for the bear not to notice, though I certainly didn’t like being so close to it with its food nearby.
The bear rather quickly lost enthusiasm and wandered off into the tall willows whipping in the wind. This was my chance. Slowly and cautiously I approached where it had been a moment before and checked for signs of sheep. There I found some torn up remains, but not much else other than the smell. Checking for predator signs, I couldn’t see anything. Not even the bear left much of a mark, due to the dry, gravel covered ground. It’s also very likely the bear had dragged the carcass away from its original resting place, as bears often move their food around to new sites.
I am forever jealous of the views the herders get to enjoy every night from camp.
On my way back out, I saw a few large canine shaped tracks in the dirt that could have been wolf. Sadly, my phone had died by this point and I couldn’t document them.
Pinto the horse keeping an eye on me.
Talking with Doroteo and Elvis on my way out, they told me they hadn’t been using the lights or airhorns that I had given them. Doroteo said he had been in the area for 8 years and had never had a problem.
I get it. We get used to a certain pattern and it’s hard to break out of that pattern. However, predators habituate to the familiar and adding the lights gives them an impression of greater risk, something wolves try to avoid. I emphasized that it was very important that they put the lights out at night, especially since dead sheep nearby could potentially attract more predators to the flock. Given the situation with sheep being killed by some predator in the area, I decided to camp out near the band in case the predator(s) returned. It was a peaceful night though and no more sheep were attacked.
That next night I met up with them way up high in the mountains and stayed out near the sheep for the night. While out there, I helped Doroteo and Elvis move rocks off the road that the sheep had dislodged in order to help avoid tensions with recreationalists driving through.
I didn’t hear any wolves that night as well. Instead, the sheep baaing greeted my ears till the early hours of the morning. Although we know the wolves are there, from local reports to images captured on field cameras and confirmed depredations by the federal agency Wildlife Services, sometimes I’m not the lucky guy that gets to see them. That’s okay with me. For me, it’s far more important that I know they’re out there, and that we are doing everything we can do stop conflict from turning into persecution.
Elvis and Pinto
I ended up returning the following day to interview them in more detail about the lost sheep as well as to see what nonlethal tools they may be using. Upon arriving, I started chatting with Elvis, who used to work as a mechanic in the mines of Peru. He told me how he can make double working as a shepherd here than as a mechanic down there. We also talked a bit about how intense the environmental damage caused by the mines is down there, specifically the water contamination.
Doroteo arrived a bit later. The way these two work in tandem is by having one of them, Elvis, stay mostly at the camp and cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Doroteo. Meanwhile, Doroteo gets up early in the morning to tend to the sheep, returns for midday, then goes back out until evening. It’s an ancient system that has been used for thousands of years.
Doroteo had just gotten back from placing Fox Lights, though he only placed one. I encouraged him to place more around the sheep. Fortunately, the band was sleeping fairly close to where they were camped. Human presence is a big part of what we prescribe as part of our non-lethal work, because wolves are quite fearful of humans. The more human activity there is around a band, the less likely wolves are going to come investigating.
Solar FoxLight on a stick to increase visibility. FoxLights turn on at dusk and off at dawn when predators are most active.
Sometimes the herders prefer to improvise with the Fox Light posts instead of carrying around something extra. This time they got by with a little help from mother nature with some sticks for Fox Light posts.
While I am out here to assist in any way I can, at the end of the day the project needs the herders and producers to take ownership of this effort. Without their buy-in and use of our equipment, this project can’t succeed. This being my first season with the Wood River Wolf Project, it may take some time for everyone to warm up to me, and that’s okay. I believe with time I can win folks over and we can continue to see the successful adoption of nonlethal practices. In the meantime, I’ll be checking in with these guys while trying to move them in the right direction.
Have a great week, all.