Mark Coats doesn't necessarily like it, but he accepts the fact that wolves have become a fixture in Oregon and areas of far Northern California.
"The wolf is a carnivore. Killing is what he does. By the laws of the ESA (Endangered Species Act), we can't do a lot," said Coats, who has cow-calf operations in Southern Oregon and far Northern California. "We need to learn how to stay in business in his presence."
Over the past six years, Coats has been studying new ways of preventing cattle deaths from predators, including wolves, coyotes and cougars. He has been working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on creating a predator awareness program he believes can successfully reduce or eliminate predation.
"What (wolves) need is the individualized chase," where a wolf or wolves isolate a cow or calf from the herd, then chase, immobilize and eat the animal, which is often still alive. "We're trying to interrupt that."
The key, he believes, is training cattle to gather in herds when threatened by wolves or other potential killers.
Coats began researching wolf and cattle behavior six years ago when collared wolf OR-7 passed through his lands near the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge along the Oregon-California border. During his wanderings in Southern Oregon and Northern California, OR-7 eventually found a breeding female. The resulting Rogue Pack, as it's known, has since grown and includes OR-7's grandchildren.
"My phone was ringing off the hook, because I was the Cattlemen's president," remembered Coats, who served as the Siskiyou County Cattlemen's Association president for three years. "I started doing a lot of research on what cattlemen can do."
What cattlemen and others can do is limited. Wolves east of Highway 395, which slices through Washington, Oregon and California, are not protected by the ESA, but wolves west of the highway are protected, which restricts ways cattle ranchers and others can deal with potential depredation threats. Coats said various studies, including research done in Yellowstone National Park, show threats can be reduced or eliminated if cattle are taught to group together rather than flee.
"The fear of the wolf is still there. There are no sound practices to deter him," Coats said of concerns by livestock owners who are legally prevented from killing wolves. "We cannot manage them with any effective measure."
Because cattlemen cannot hunt or trap wolves, the predator awareness program is a viable alternative, he believes.
"When wolves confront livestock, they (livestock) get fearful for their lives. Once they reach the group, the pressure is relieved. A defensive standing posture will deter wolves. What we're encouraging is a defensive posture of moving to the herd."
He said studies indicate wolves do not attack groups of livestock, choosing instead to chase individual animals. According to Coats, previous studies showed that wolves will leave if livestock remain still and in groups. While he is focused on cattle, he said the group-and-stand theory applies to other livestock.
"We always saw losses to coyotes, but since we've worked with this program we haven't had any losses to mammals," he said.
Training livestock to group in herds may take several months, he said.
"Training can last several months or, if done intensely, seven to 10 days. And it continually needs to be tuned up. The cow must understand it is its decision to return to the herd ... A key is training them to stand and not run or flee."
Studies indicate cattle can check attacks by gathering in groups of as few as three, although he prefers groups of 10 to 12. In more open areas, such as the Wood River Valley south of Crater Lake National Park, he promotes having groups of 40 or 50.
He hopes to make his findings available through a series of workshops.
"We're encouraging something that's been unencouraged for years," Coats said of training cattle to respond to threats by forming groups. "Keep it tight, keep them in a herd, in a defensive posture. They're in that group for a reason."
For more information about Mark Coats' predator awareness program, including videos on how to train cattle, see his website at www.rancherpredatorawareness.com.
— Reach freelance writer Lee Juillerat at 337lee337@charter.net or 541-880-4139.