First wolf killed in Douglas County

Douglas County notched its first tally in Wisconsin’s inaugural wolf hunting season Friday.

The Department of Natural Resources reports a female wolf was trapped in at 11:30 a.m. Friday within Douglas County. Hunters have 24 hours to report a harvested wolf to the DNR.

As of Tuesday, hunters had reported 39 wolves taken since the season opened Oct. 15.

The DNR has sold 775 licenses — 769 to Wisconsin residents and six to non-residents.

Zone 1, which covers northwestern Wisconsin and encompasses Douglas County, has the highest number of wolf kills at 13. Of those, five each came from Bayfield and Price counties, two came in Iron County and one came from Douglas County. Ten of the wolves taken in Zone 1 were trapped.

More than 20 wolf packs have territories within or extending into Douglas County, according to the DNR’s 2011 data. The county also has the highest number of verified wolf depredations for 2012, followed closely by Bayfield County.

Eleven incidents of livestock depredation and one hunting dog depredation were verified in Douglas County through Sept. 29. Most of the livestock killed were Holstein or beef calves. Once incident of an attack on chickens was also reported.

Bayfield County had six livestock depredations and two hunting dog depredations.

The 2012 wolf season runs through Feb. 28 unless a zone reaches its harvest quota and is closed early. Zone 1 has a quota of 32 wolves.

Zone closures will be announced on the DNR telephone reporting system (1-855-299-9653) and on the DNR website (www.dnr.wi.gov.).

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