Less than one day after issuing a kill order for six of the remaining nine members of the Lookout Mt wolf pack, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) officials killed the breeding male and two of his children – a yearling and a five month old pup. They plan to kill another three pups before the end of October. Read more.

Despite numerous studies indicating that killing wolves to prevent livestock attacks is not effective, ODFW has forged ahead with their killing schemes. ODFW officials killed two pups of the Lookout Mt pack in August and when livestock attacks continued, as science stated they would, ODFW decided to slaughter almost the entire family. The remaining wolves consist of a collared breeding female and her five pups – one yearling and four pups born in the spring of 2021. Officials still plan to kill three more of the pups and, unbeknownst to her, they will rely on the wolf mother to do so.

Blind Betrayal: Tracking Collars Lead Sharpshooters to Unsuspecting Wolf Families

ODFW’s initial kill order, issued in August, specifically targeted the uncollared members of the Lookout Mt pack – the children. The department stated that by killing the pups, they would reduce the number of juvenile wolves to feed and the parents would hopefully turn to wild food sources instead of the domestic livestock grazing in the rugged lands of northeastern Oregon.

But how does one locate elusive, wild animals that are not fitted with tracking devices? By forcing the collared parents to unknowingly betray their children. Juvenile wolves do not stray far from their parents – locate the parents using the data transmitted by their collars and officials can easily locate the pups. This deceitful use of tracking devices, often touted as a conservation tool and way to collect data about a state-endangered species, resulted in the death of the collared breeding male and two of his children. The mother, fitted with a GPS collar, has been spared to serve as a Judas wolf.

Judas wolves are condemned to a life of constant loss and terror – these collared wolves are used to lead government killers to their families, but they are left alive while the rest of their pack is killed. The government can then use those same wolves in following years to locate their new family members and kill them, thus repeating a vicious cycle.

The breeding female, already grappling with the loss of four of her children and her mate, will undoubtedly redouble her efforts to protect and provide for her remaining children. As she navigates her changed world, acting as a guidepost for her children, she is unknowingly also acting as a guide for the very agents that slaughtered her family.

A Future Filled with Loss

The kill permits for the Lookout Mt pack expire on October 31st. But with the mother’s GPS collar transmitting her location eight times per day, will the pups even see the end of September?