Predation of livestock is an old problem that extends back over numerous countries, cultures, and centuries. Shepherds like David protected his flocks with a staff and a slingshot. Masai warriors in Kenya protect their cattle herds from lions with thorn fences and spears. Non-lethal and lethal means have long been used to discourage or kill predators, but as predators like lions, bears, tigers, and wolves become endangered and recognized for their valuable roles in ecosystems, there is a greater emphasis on predation prevention.

That’s true in the United States, where grizzly bears and wolves have been accorded protection under the Endangered Species Act. Both species have preyed on wildlife and livestock like cattle, sheep, lamas, and horses, not to mention the herding and guardian dogs they sometimes encounter.

But unlike the original settlers, which mostly wiped out large predators in the Lower 48, today there is a growing awareness that preventing or discouraging predation of livestock, can save the lives of livestock and predators alike, while keeping ecosystems intact.

Much of that awareness, that predation can be prevented or minimized, is due to one woman: Suzanne Ashe Stone, who has been at the forefront of wolf restoration in the western US since 1988. That’s when as a Boise State intern, she hooked up with federal and tribal agencies on wolf reintroduction and helped reintroduce wolves in Yellowstone and Idaho. She’s become convinced that wolves will never escape human persecution until people realize there are ways to coexist. 

Stone has been following closely the debates and legislation behind reintroducing wolves into Colorado, no later than the end of this year.

“I’ve been working behind the scenes in Colorado, trying to help livestock owners, state officials and legislators, understand how to best manage wolves” said Stone, who is now executive director of the International Wildlife Coexistence Network. She just returned from Oxford, where there was an international conference on wildlife coexistence in late March.

The key question for Stone, fellow environmentalists, Colorado ranchers, wildlife officials, and state legislators, is how will wolves be received in Colorado, and can they be discouraged from preying on Colorado livestock?

The answer is yes, especially if there is an abundant population of wildlife for the wolves to eat: deer, elk, moose, antelope, and smaller prey like rabbits. Wolves are opportunists – they go for the most abundant, easiest-to-kill prey. Wolves perform an ecological service, killing the weak, old, and sick, so that the overall wildlife prey population is healthier.

If livestock operators make it more difficult to prey on livestock, and there are abundant prey species available, then wolves will concentrate on wildlife and not livestock. Conversely, if livestock is easier to attack than wildlife, then livestock becomes the prey of choice.

And here’s a key lesson for wildlife biologists and livestock operators, said Stone. It matters a great deal if you can educate a pack’s alpha breeding pair, to leave livestock alone. That’s because if the alphas learn that lesson and teach it to younger wolves and their pups, then pack members will not be overly tempted to go after livestock. Conversely, if an alpha pair get killed in early contacts with livestock, then the younger wolves don’t learn anything and predation keeps happening – even increasing.

In 2017, the findings of a seven-year study by Stone compared sheep livestock losses in an area, which emphasized lethal controls, to an area that utilized a suite of non-lethal tactics like range riders, guardian dogs, portable electric fences, and other non-lethal tools and tactics. The non-lethal control area experienced 3.5 times fewer dead sheep, or .02 percent of the overall sheep population.

The Wood River Wolf Project continued until recently and promises an exacting breakdown of the costs and benefits of the lethal/non-lethal projects. Stone said she’s working with economists at Michigan State for the report. She’s willing to bet that lethal controls of wolves are much more expensive than non-lethal – especially if helicopters are used to haze wolves and give a gunner a perch for shooting wolves.

Missteps in Colorado?

Stone said the states that are doing best at managing wolves within a predation prevention context are Washington, Oregon, and California. Montana used to have a good approach, until it got radically conservative. Idaho has simply turned into a zero-tolerance state for wolves, said Stone.

“I had hoped that Colorado would turn out to be the best at managing wolves,” she said. That hasn’t turned out to be the case, at least so far. 

Stone said that Democratic legislators have good intentions, but they’ve been buried in such an avalanche of data and conflicting opinions, that it has been hard to avoid poor decisions and compromises. Further, the state assembled a Technical Working Group on wolf management, which has credible real-world experiences from surrounding states. “No one has called upon them for advice,” said Stone. As a result, Colorado officials don’t really know what they need to know., she said.

There are more problems. She cited a late March meeting between Colorado Parks and Wildlife and other interested parties in Steamboat Springs, where it was announced that CPW won’t have a specific number of wolf predations on livestock, that would trigger culling the offending wolf or pack. CPW said it wanted flexibility in how and when to respond to problem wolves. Stone and Don Gittleson, a Walden-area rancher hit by wolf predation, both agree that that kind of ambiguity will result only in a lack of trust among all the players.

Stone is also concerned that Colorado may financially over-compensate ranchers who lose livestock to wolves.

“I’m afraid that the compensation program will be a disincentive to ranchers working on prevention. That’s going to cost taxpayers way more than it should,” said Stone. 

Finally, even if ranchers express sincere interest in prevention efforts, they don’t always follow through as recommended, said Stone. She said Gittleson hadn’t used several tools and techniques properly, such as a fully enclosed electric fence left partially open.

“The key to making prevention tools work,” said Stone, “is having consistency – something going on each night, and mixing tools and locations up frequently so wolves don’t become habituated. They hate surprises, but can get used to routines.” 

She cited an Oregon rancher who set up deterrents powered by a generator, which proved effective 100 percent for four nights in a row. On the fifth night, he didn’t turn on the generator, and wolves killed a lama that night. In another case, Stone said a rancher used a suite of tactics for several weeks successfully. But in the absence of change, the wolves got habituated and hit his flock again.

Defensive space

It is a truism that a ranch/farm compound of buildings and corrals is easier to defend against wolves than a situation where flocks and herds are spread out far and wide. Such a home base has reliable electric power, and opportunities to erect floodlights, loudspeakers, and sensors that kick alarms into action when wolves approach. 

Yet portable fences, electrified by solar-charged batteries, can do much the same – protect sheep or cow/calf pairs right after birthing, said Stone.

Creativity a plus

Recordings of loud sounds can startle wolves into abandoning an attack. And recordings are easy to mix up with new material. Recordings of fireworks, firearms, and snarling guardian dogs can all work. So can heavy metal rock at full blast. Bright, flashing lights that suddenly turn on randomly or at a wolf’s approach, can also be effective – especially if combined with startling sounds.

And then there is creativity at the inspired genius level. You’ve probably seen car dealers set up what’s called “tube men” on their lots – hollow tubes of plastic with painted faces, that rise, fall and rise again as air is blown through them. 

Stone and an Idaho rancher set up a tube man, together with lights and loud sounds, near a trail that wolves used to approach a flock of sheep. The local pack had a radio-collared member, and an electronic sensor was keyed to look for that particular signal and turn on all the tools.

Sure enough, the radio-collared wolf was detected and everything turned on at the same time – including the tube man that was suddenly looming over the wolf. That wolf and his fellow pack members skedaddled rather hastily.

“We looked for the signal of that particular wolf the next day,” said Stone. It was two counties away, she laughed.

What’s in a good prevention suite?

Imagination. “Try to think like a wolf,” said Stone. If you were hunting deer or elk, where you have your cattle or sheep, what areas or routes offer cover, what approach takes advantage of the prevailing wind?

Good housekeeping. Haul off or deep bury livestock carcasses. “If wolves have a superpower, it is their sense of smell,” she said. “Don’t offer them a free meal.” Wolves can also smell an injured or diseased animal, so either treat them, bring them into safety, or put them down and remove the carcass.

Never approach, or allow your dogs to approach, a wolf den with pups. “That’s an excellent way to get your dogs killed,” said Stone, noting that wolf parents will go all out in defense of pups. And all dogs appear as threats.

Turbofladry. This is a term for an electrified fence, permanent or portable, combined with closely spaced strips of glow-in-the-dark plastic. This combination works very well, because while wolves can become habituated to an electric fence or flapping strips stirred by the slightest breeze, the combination is extremely unsettling, for lengths of time. 

Motion sensors, strategically set and moved around, tied into lights, sounds or moving gizmos. 
The gizmos can be individual, combined with other gizmos and moved around. Or as Gomer Pyle would put it, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” Wolves don’t like surprises. 

Four-legged guardians. There are varieties of guardian dogs that have been bred over time, to help protect livestock from predators, such as wolves and bears. Some, like the Akbash or Great Pyrenees, are bred to sound the alarm and defend livestock from attack. Others, like the Kan gal or Anatolian, and bred to pursue predators. Donkeys can bite or kick attacking wolves, breaking bones. Do your homework on what you need, then be prepared to invest time in socialization and training.

Two-legged guardians. Shepherds or herders are people who stay close to sheep or cattle, ready to haze predators to stay away, or back up their guardian dogs when fighting begins. People can be employed as circuit riders, ready to patrol the area around livestock on e-bikes, horseback, ATV or snowmobile. These patrols unsettle wolves and encourage them to leave the area, especially if the riders are equipped with special guns that fire pepper, rubber bullets or bean bags. Riders also provide intelligence about the makeup and location of wolf packs and whether they’re out hunting wildlife or headed for livestock areas.

Cooperation with neighbors. As tempting as it is to do all of the above, right away, neighbors can share resources and ideas on how to discourage wolves from livestock predation. Sharing resources also lends itself to surprising wolves wherever they go – to your property or your neighbor’s.