March 7, 2013
Wolf seasons drawing to a close
By Niels Nokkentved, IDFG
Gray wolf hunting and trapping
seasons in most zones in
Hunting seasons in the Lolo
and Selway zones remain open through June 30. And the Beaverhead and
As of March 4, hunters and
trappers had taken 245 wolves in
Fish and Game encourages wolf
hunters to concentrate their efforts in backcountry zones where wolf harvest has
been the lowest. Access to backcountry and wilderness units may be difficult,
but wolves in those areas are less likely to have been disturbed by other
hunters.
Examples areas with wolf
hunting opportunities include: Unit 25, along the South Fork Salmon River or the
East Fork of the
Wolves have proven to be a
challenging big game animal to hunt. Effective wolf hunting techniques include
looking for fresh tracks and then closing the distance before calling to wolves,
glassing ridges where wolves may travel or bed, and calling by howling or using
other predator calls.
Wolf hunters are discouraged
from shooting wolves with radio collars. The collared wolves provide important
information biologists need to document wolf population levels and continue to
justify having wolf hunting seasons, and the collars are expensive to place on
animals.