Increased hunting and unreported fatalities have resulted in a 30% decrease in Wisconsin's wolf population.

In a recent study published in the journal PeerJ, a team of environmental scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has provided insight into the decline of Wisconsin's wolf population since the removal of federal protections.

The research, led by Adrian Treves, Francisco Santiago-Ávila, and Karann Putrevu, has modeled uncounted deaths in Wisconsin's wolf population since November 2020. Their findings suggest that about one-third of the population decline is due to hidden deaths in the wolf population, resulting from relaxed legal protections.

The study reveals that a total of 218 wolves were killed by licensed hunters during Wisconsin's first public wolf hunt, which was implemented at the end of February 2021 due to a lawsuit. However, the new study suggests that an additional 100 wolves died in Wisconsin over the winter, largely due to cryptic poaching.

The Endangered Species Act delisting led to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) initially planning to conduct the first wolf hunt in November 2021. However, the Ojibwe Tribes were granted a quota of 81 wolves, but they did not conduct a hunt. The hunting quota of 119 wolves for non-native hunters was set with the goal of helping maintain but not reduce the state's wolf population.

The research team hopes that the Wisconsin DNR and other states' natural resource agencies will use their methods to develop a more complete assessment of the effect of new policies on predator populations. They emphasize the importance of using the best available science to meet stated goals.

Treves and his team estimate that the wolf population could recover in one to two years without hunting. Santiago-Ávila stated that the wolf disappearances during this period are due to both reported and cryptic poaching. The team's methods and models are freely available to natural resource agencies for use.

Eric Hamilton, who can be contacted at (608) 263-1986 or [email protected], is a contact for this study. Putrevu, a doctoral student, also researches tiger populations in the Russian Far East.

The combined loss of 313 to 323 wolves represents a decline in Wisconsin's wolf population of between 27% and 33% between April 2020 and April 2021. The study provides guidance to other states planning wolf hunts following the removal of federal protections.

Increased hunting and unreported fatalities have resulted in a 30% decrease in Wisconsin's wolf population.