Wildlife Services Urges Ranchers to Report All Cattle Deaths

SUN VALLEY, Idaho (AP) — USDA Wildlife Services in Idaho is asking ranchers to report all cattle deaths and leave the carcass undisturbed in an effort to preserve evidence and help investigators confirm a wolf depredation. The Capital Press reports Idaho State Director of USDA Wildlife Services Todd Grimm said during the Idaho Cattle Association's annual convention that ranchers who come across a dead cow with no outward signs of cause of death shouldn't assume the cause. The animal's death could have been caused by a wolf. Wildlife services has confirmed 750 wolf depredations in cattle in the past 22 years, affecting 400 producers in 32 counties in Idaho. But Grimm says the science indicates for every wolf killing confirmed, there are probably six or seven more.