Ranchers and Wolves
can't we all just get along?
Wolves have made their way from Oregon to California, down as far as the Sequoias in Tulare County. It is exciting to see these animals once again occupying territories they are native to. However, wolves coming back to California has raised concerns of local farmers and cattle ranchers. Many farmers are concerned about how these predators will impact their business, and the potential loss of livestock. These are valid concerns. Can farmers successfully co-exist with wolf populations and still keep
their livestock safe? The answer to this is yes! And now is the time to prepare, before the wolf populations grow
and become problematic for ranchers.
One way ranchers can protect their livestock is to fence them in/ fence the wolves out. This is probably the most expensive solution, but it is a sure way to protect livestock. In order to adequately keep the wolves out, you will need heavy duty fencing that is at minimum 9 gauge chainlink or the rigid 6 gauge cattle panels will also suffice. Wolves can easily clip through 11 gauge or weaker fencing. Field fencing is also no match for wolves. Additionally, height of the fencing should be at least 8 ft since wolves can easily climb over or clear a 6 ft fence. If you come and visit our facility, you will see that our containments are all 10 ft high with 9 gauge chainlink. Wolves and even wolfdogs are escape artists and also require dig guards to keep them from digging out, or concrete around the perimeter of their containments. The same methods we use to keep the animals contained would be expected to sufficiently fence out the wild wolves and is also effective to keep your animals safe from other predators as well. Hot wire would also be an efficient tool. Even though containing livestock or even just your personal pets and animals is an expensive solution, especially if there is a lot of land to contain, it is also a one time cost that will prevent the loss of livestock. This may not be a feasible solution for people who have large ranches with many acres that would need to be fenced in. So there is a second option, livestock guardian dogs.
Livestock guardian dogs are proven to be very successful at protecting livestock from wolves as well as bears, mountain lions, and other predators. There are several livestock guardian dog breeds, but the Kangal/ Anatolian Shepherd is the breed that we recommend most of all. Livestock guardians live outside with your livestock and offer 24/7 protection, and they are capable of taking down wolves and even bears. The Kangal is superior to other dog breeds in size, strength, stamina, and bite pressure. There are also several Youtube videos that are available to provide more information about Kangals as well as other livestock guardian breeds.
Here are a couple of youtube videos that we have found which provide good information about these types of dogs:
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Another option for ranchers to protect their cattle is to employ range riders to watch over livestock as well as deploy scare devices to keep the wolves away from livestock. This is a good option when fencing in cattle isn't feasible due to the cattle occupying several acres of grazing land, be it private or public. It is also important to make sure attractants such as weak/ dying or dead livestock are removed. Dead and dying livestock make easy prey, and once the wolves find opportunity to prey on the weak, they are likely to come back for more. Some ranchers also experience great success with using a combination of livestock guardian dogs and range riders for extra protection and assurance.
Predation of wolves on livestock across the ranges they inhabit account for a small percentage of livestock deaths. In the northern Rockies, over 86% of livestock deaths are attributed to disease and birthing problems, with predation from wolves resulting in less than 1% of deaths. In Colorado, livestock producers can receive fair market value and up to $15,000 per animal for livestock and animals used for guard/herding purposes if a predation incident is confirmed by the wildlife agency
