A $50,000 reward is being offered for information about the deaths of three endangered gray wolves in southern Oregon.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the bodies of the wolves were discovered after state wildlife protection officials responded to a “mortality signal” emitted from two of the wolves’ collars on Dec. 29. The third wolf did not have a collar.
The deaths occurred in an area of “known wolf activity,” the release said. All three wolves are from the same pack. No details were provided on how the wolves died.
Officials said the collared wolves were an adult breeding female and a subadult from the Gearhart Mountain Pack. The third wolf killed was also a subadult or adolescent.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said seven wolves remain in the pack, including a breeding male.
Wolves are a protected species in the state and monitored under the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, which was first implemented in 2005.
The reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest or civil penalty related to the animals’ deaths.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the federal agency or Oregon State Police, the service said.
