Number of Wolves Continues to Grow in Washington State
SPOKANE (AP) — A new report says the number of wolves in Washington state continued to grow in 2018.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on Thursday published its annual wolf census.
It shows the state has a minimum of 126 individual wolves, 27 packs, and 15 successful breeding pairs -- which are male and female adults who have raised at least two pups that survived through the end of the year. A year ago, there were 122 wolves in 22 packs with 14 breeding pairs.
The agency says that for the first time they have documented a wolf pack west of the Cascade Range, in Skagit County.
Wolves were virtually wiped out in Washington by the 1930s, but started returning to the state from surrounding areas early in this century.