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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Gray wolf numbers in Montana declined 12 percent last year and livestock attacks by the predators hit an eight-year low, following several years of determined effort by officials to curb the state's wolf population.
A minimum 554 wolves were counted statewide at the end of 2014, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. That includes 33 breeding pairs.
Livestock attacks declined 46 percent from the prior year with the fewest recorded since 2006. Officials said 35 cattle, six sheep and one horse were confirmed killed.
Montana's gray wolf population peaked at 653 animals in 2011. That same year, Congress lifted federal protections for the animals across much of the Northern Rockies, opening the door to licensed hunting and trapping for the first time in decades.
During this winter's harvest, which ended last month, hunters and trappers killed 206 wolves in Montana. Fifty-seven wolves were killed by wildlife agents in response to livestock attacks under a cooperative program between the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Only six of the animals were killed by landowners under a new state law that allows up to 100 wolves to be killed annually if they are considered a potential threat to livestock or humans. The law had been criticized by wildlife advocates as the equivalent of a year-round hunting season.
The wolf count is the number verified by Fish, Wildlife and Parks wolf specialists.
Officials estimate the actual number to be 27 percent to 37 percent higher than the minimum count. That equates to more than 700 wolves statewide.
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