$20,000 reward offered after third endangered gray wolf killed in Washington state

January 06, 2025 / 1:18 pm

caption: A female member of Washington's former Diamond Pack seen in 2010. A $20,000 reward is being offered for information related to the killings of three gray wolves in Klickitat and Okanogan counties.

A conservation group is teaming up with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to offer a $20,000 reward for help catching the person or people responsible for the deaths of three gray wolves in Washington state.

The Center for Biological Diversity announced Monday that it is doubling the federal agency’s $10,000 reward for information leading to arrests and convictions in three separate killings of the endangered wolves.

“I’m so saddened by the illegal killings of yet more Washington wolves,” said Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the nonprofit, in a statement. “These beautiful animals didn’t deserve to die this way, and whoever killed them should face the full force of the law.”

The latest incident involved an adult gray wolf found Dec. 17 in Klickitat County northeast of Trout Lake. The wolf was the last remaining member of the Big Muddy Pack and the second wolf illegally killed in Klickitat County in 2024.

Federal officials could not provide additional information on how the wolf was killed.

On Oct. 6, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife investigated the death of an adult male gray wolf east of the Klickitat River near U.S. Highway 142.

In that instance, a gunshot wound led the wolf to die from starvation over the course of days or weeks after it dragged itself to a water source without the use of its back legs, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Two weeks later, on Oct. 20, the body of an adult female wolf was discovered southwest of Twisp in Okanogan County.

All three of the wolves were killed in the western two-thirds of Washington state where gray wolves remain federally protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Penalties for illegally killing an endangered species in Washington are up to a $5,000 fine and one year in jail.

Five wolves were illegally killed in 2024 statewide. Four of those cases remain under investigation. At least 22 wolves have been poached in Washington state since 2022, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

Anyone with information about the killings should contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 844-397-8477 or visit the Wildlife Crime Tips website. People with information can also contact the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife at 877-933-9847 or send an email to reportpoaching@dfw.wa.gov. Callers can remain anonymous.