ASOTIN COUNTY, WA — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is considering lethal removal of one or more wolves from the Couse wolf pack following a series of livestock depredations in Asotin County.

According to a WDFW press release, staff have documented multiple incidents involving cattle over the past month, including three confirmed depredations and one probable depredation within a 30-day period. All of the recent losses involved cattle from a single livestock producer.

The incidents began in mid-March when two deceased calf carcasses were investigated and confirmed as wolf depredations. A third calf death on April 1 was determined to be a probable wolf depredation. On April 3, WDFW confirmed a fatal attack on an adult cow.

An employee of the producer also shot and killed a wolf on April 3 while it was attacking cattle, according to the report.

WDFW noted that the producer had been using multiple non-lethal deterrents, including regular range riding, daily human presence, fox lights, and removing sick or injured livestock. Despite these efforts, agency staff determined there are no additional appropriate non-lethal deterrents available given the conditions and size of the pasture.

The agency is now evaluating next steps and is expected to provide a recommendation to the WDFW director in the coming days.

WDFW previously documented a separate incident in February involving a calf injury in the same pack territory, though those injuries appeared to be older.