Zero Increase In Oregon’s Wolf Population For First Time In 16 Years

Wolves were killed in a number of ways, including state-authorized killings, poaching and vehicle strikes. An additional wolf died from bone cancer and two wolves’ causes of death could not be determined.

There were 22 reported packs in 2023, down from 24 the year before, while the number of successful breeding pairs decreased from 17 to 15. Another 13 groups of two or three wolves also were identified. Large numbers of wolves killed by people likely explains the overall decrease.

This report documents a total of 36 known wolf deaths in 2023. People killed 33 wolves, with 12 known to have been killed illegally. This is the third year in a row in which the illegal killing of wolves soared. There were eight known poaching deaths in 2021, seven in 2022 and now 12 in 2023. This brings the total to at least 44 known wolves poached since 2012.

In 2023 the department issued kill orders on members of 10 different packs, the most packs ever subject to a kill order in any given year. In addition, kill orders were kept open for up to three months at a time compared to past kill orders, which usually lasted only a month or less.

Because of these kill orders, 16 wolves were killed in 2023 by the agency, ranchers or by USDA Wildlife Services staff acting as agents for the ranchers. This level of killing is twice as high as any previously recorded in any calendar year since record-keeping began at the start of Oregon’s wolf recovery in 2008.

Of the 12 known wolves killed illegally in 2023, four were poached in the area of Oregon where wolves are still fully protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. Eight additional poachings occurred in the federally delisted portion of Oregon. Of these 12 known illegal killings, seven of those killed in the delisted region and three of those killed in the listed region were poisoned, leading to gruesome, painful deaths. The eight wolves poached in 2021 also were poisoned.

Oregon lost an additional eight wolves last year to other causes. Four wolves died from vehicle strikes and one died after being shot, purportedly in self-defense. Three died of natural or unknown causes. Another 10 of Oregon’s wolves were captured by staff from Colorado Parks and Wildlife last December and flown to Colorado where they were released into the northern part of the state. The two states agreed to this deal to facilitate Colorado wolf reintroduction, which was approved by voters there in 2020.

Wolf population growth has also lagged well behind expectations. Prior to the zero population growth in 2023, the seven previous years showed growth well below the anticipated 30% for a wolf population still in the early stages of recovery. The annual growth rate for Oregon’s wolves over the past eight years has averaged only around 6.3%.