A calf was killed in a rare wolf attack on a farm near Poynette, WI last week. The calf was found last Tuesday, with the neck broken and throat torn out.According to DNR authorities say this is believed to be a wolf attack because the fatal wound was at the throat. Experts say that coyotes and other animals attack their prey from the rear, instead of the throat. The incident is the first report of a wolf attack in Columbia County this year, and authorities say it is a rare occurrence in the area.
Rick Stevenson, owner of the calf, farms 1,800 acres with his brothers, and says that in May 2014, a hunting camera captured a lone wolf on his property. It is uncertain at this time if this is the same wolf that killed the calf.
Stevenson is eligible for at least partial reimbursement for the calf, which he valued at $1,000, from the DNR and USDA, and paperwork has been filed.
A wolf hunt had been re-introduced into Wisconsin after the Federal Delisting of wolves from their endangered and threatened status in January 2012. However, wolf hunting in the state has again been banned when a federal judge made the decision to re-list them as endangered in the Great Lake Region late last fall.