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Two more wolf kills blamed on Rogue Pack By Lee Juillerat Updated: Jul 19, 2022 03:08 PM A A This remote camera photo taken May 3, 2014, and provided by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shows the wolf OR-7 on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in southwest Oregon. [Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP] Wolves in the Rogue Pack were blamed this week for killing two more cattle in the Fort Klamath area, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. ODFW said the most recent incident attributed to the Rogue Pack — wolves that move between Jackson and Klamath counties — resulted in the death of a yearling steer found Sunday, July 17. According to an ODFW investigation, a livestock producer found an approximately 950-pound yearling steer dead Sunday morning in a large, private pasture. The report stated portions of the hindquarters and neck had been consumed, and it estimated the steer had died 36 to 48 hours before it was found. “The pre-mortem bite scrapes and tissue trauma are clear signs of a predator attack,” the report said. “The injuries are consistent with injuries on other cattle attacked by wolves in this area. This depredation is attributed to the Rogue Pack.” Two days earlier, another kill was reported. According to the ODFW report, a ranch manager found an injured, 800-pound steer in a private pasture the morning of July 15. Because of the severity of the injuries, the steer was euthanized. Based on the investigation, it is estimated the steer had been injured about 12 hours earlier. “The injuries are consistent with injuries on other cattle attacked by wolves. This depredation is attributed to the Rogue Pack,” the report said. The two attacks occurred days after a July 12 incident, also in the Fort Klamath area, that resulted in the death of an 11-month-old, 775-pound cow on private land. That kill also was attributed to the Rogue Pack. Until this recent spate of kills, the Rogue Pack was not known to have been involved in cattle kills since January. The Rogue Pack’s current alpha female is the 4-year-old daughter of OR-7 and fellow collared wolf OR-94. OR-7, believed to have died in 2019, was the well-known wandering wolf that sired the original Rogue Pack. OR-94 was found dead of apparent natural causes in 2021 in the Sky Lakes Wilderness Area near Prospect in northeast Jackson County. The pack remained under the radar of state wildlife officials until last summer, when trail cameras captured images of the new Rogue Pack with as many as four pups. Reach freelance writer Lee Juillerat at [email protected] or 541-880-4139.