Fifth Bear hunting hound killed by wolves in Clark County

A fifth bear hunting dog has been killed by wolves this year in Clark County, state wildlife officials said. This latest depredation – involving a 2 1/2-year-old male Plott hound – occurred Saturday in the Town of Levis.

An official from Wildlife Services, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, confirmed the depredation. It likely involved the Brushy Ridge wolf pack in southern Clark County. Two other wolf packs in Clark County have been associated with hound depredations this summer.

This is the first year wolf-dog depredations have been recorded in Clark County. Adrian Wydeven, a wolf biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources, said both wolves and bears are more abundant than in the past, and it is likely populations have increased in Clark County which has large tracts of county forest. Hunting dogs are at risk because wolves have pups at summer rendezvous sites and consider dogs a threat.

Hunters may train dogs by pursuing bear from July 1 to August 31 each year.

“We advise all citizens to exercise extra caution and avoid training dogs at locations with recently confirmed wolf depredations on dogs,” Wydeven said. “We advise owners of small pets to keep them on a leash or under close observation if they are in an area of known wolf activity.”

Caution area maps are regularly updated and can be found by going to the DNR web page and typing “wolf depredation” in the search box.

The Gray Wolf currently is listed as a federally endangered species and persons convicted of killing a wolf are subject to possible jail time and fines.