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2 wolves responsible for deaths of 143 sheep in southwestern Idaho

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Wolves causes stampede: Two adult wolves caused a flock of 143 sheep to die when the animals rushed into a steep gully. (Idaho Department of Fish and Game)

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

An attack by two wolves panicked a flock of sheep in southwestern Idaho, causing a stampede that killed 143 of the frightened animals as they ran into a steep gully, authorities said.

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According to a news release from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the agency responded to a report of a “pile-up” of sheep in the Boise Foothills in mid-May.

In an interview with the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission, Frank Shirts, a rancher and owner of Wilder Sheep, said the wolf attack happened during the day, a rare occurrence. Shirts said the wolves caused the sheep to run into the gully, where they crashed into each other and suffocated, KTVB reported.

“The wolves scared the hell out of them and pushed them into that little canyon and piled them in there,” Shirts told the agency. “They didn’t consume anything. The sheep just suffocated in the pile-up and died. We work to make things good for those sheep every day, so it’s a shame to lose them.”

Wildlife Services staff searched the area and found two sets of wolf tracks near the location of the incident according to the television station. Officials confirmed that the wolves caused the pile-up.

“This sadly exemplifies why wolf management in Idaho can be so challenging,” Fish and Game Director Ed Schriever said in a statement. “People cherish the Foothills for its diversity of wildlife, along with the opportunities for grazing, recreation and other activities. In this instance, a pair of wolves caused a significant loss of sheep for a rancher, and despite our efforts as a department to reduce or prevent this, it can still occur, and we regret that rancher Frank Shirts and his herders had to deal with this loss.”

The sheep were part of a band of about 2,500 ewes and lambs grazing in the Boise Foothills, KTVB reported.

Idaho has the most wolves in the Rocky Mountain West, with a wolf population of about 1,500, according to KBOI-TV.

Shirts said he would apply for compensation funds to cover the cost of the sheep predation, according to the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission.

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