Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
WOLVES ARE caught in their natural habitat in the Upper Peninsula by Nancy Warren. Wolves killed four calves and a cow across the U.P. in 2017, which is down from the seven animals killed in 2016.
By IAN MINIELLY
Ewen - There were six animals killed by wolves at five Upper Peninsula farms in 2017, according to Nancy Warren, a member of the National Wolfwatcher Coalition.
She requested the information from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Department of Natural Resources through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The losses in livestock were spread across the U.P. The numbers of dead animals from wolves is much lower than last year.
In 2016, 37 animals were killed by wolves at seven U.P. livestock operations.
According to the Department of Agriculture, respiratory ills, calving, digestive problems and weather combine to be the top killers of livestock every year.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources estimates the wolf population is around 618, mostly in the U.P., down from 2011's 687 wolves.
A winter survey is under way by the DNR.
Warren claims biologists say apex hunters like wolves do not overpopulate areas, but instead regulate populations based on the available habitat and food.
Deer numbers have been down across the U.P. for the past several years.
Warren said farmers and ranchers are paid full market value for any animals lost to wolf predation and the DNR has many non-lethal means at its disposal to make farms unattractive to wolves.
