Man says he fired shot at wolf

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 11:21 AM PDT

BAKER CITY (AP) — Dennis Whalon says he saw many wolves while working as a bush pilot in Alaska, and he’s certain that’s the type of animal he spotted last week on his son’s property near Black Mountain in Eastern Oregon.

Whalon, 58, of Hillsboro says he fired one shot from his .357 revolver, but doesn’t know if he hit the target.

‘‘It was just a reaction,’’ Whalon told the Baker City Herald. ‘‘The only reason I shot is it started to come at us. I had no choice. I didn’t know if it was coming after me or my dog.’’

Wolves in northeastern Oregon are protected under Oregon’s endangered species law. It is legal for a person to shoot and kill a wolf to protect a human. It’s not legal to shoot a wolf to protect a dog.

Wolves were hunted out of existence in Oregon in the early 20th century, but have been moving back into the state from Idaho, where packs were re-established in the 1990s as part of a federal program.

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Last month, a motion-detector camera photographed two wolves killing 24 lambs on a ranch near Baker City — the first documented wolf attack on livestock since their return. The attack revived the contentious debate over whether ranchers should be allowed to shoot wolves on sight.

Whalon, who was born in Baker City, said the incident happened Friday night, shortly after he left his pickup to take a walk on the 40-acre property. He described the wolf as ‘‘the most beautiful animal’’ he had ever seen.

‘‘I couldn’t believe the massive size,’’ Whalon said.

He said the wolf was about 10 yards away when it started to advance. After firing the shot, Whalon said he followed the animal’s tracks for hundreds of feet before stopping. He didn’t see any blood.

Russ Morgan, wolf coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said Tuesday he has not received any reports of wolf sightings in the Black Mountain area, and it would be ‘‘very unusual’’ for a wild wolf to not seem afraid of Whalon or his dog.

‘‘A wild wolf doesn’t generally just walk into someone’s camp,’’ Morgan said, adding that tame, wolf-like dogs are more apt to do so.