$10K reward offered for information leading to killer of Washington gray wolf

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) are looking for the killer of a federally listed endangered gray wolf.

The male wolf was killed in Klickitat County, Washington, according to a news release from the agency on Friday. FWS is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest, criminal conviction or civil penalty assessment.

According to the news release, WDFW staff investigated the death of the animal on December 17, 2024, with the incident occurring northeast of Trout Lake, Washington.

FWS said this wolf was the last remaining member of the Big Muddy Pack. It is also the second wolf that was illegally killed in Klickitat County in 2024.

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According to the news release, the second wolf was found near Goldendale, Washington in late September or October 2024. The body was discovered east of the Klickitat River near U.S. Highway 142, officials said.

The animal “died from a gunshot wound that led to its starvation over the course of days or possibly weeks after it dragged itself to a water source without the use of its back legs,” FWS stated.

Then, two weeks later on October 20, the body of a female adult wolf was found southwest of Twisp in Okanogan County, in Northern Washington.

More details: Wildlife Department investigating deaths of two endangered wolves, offering $10K reward

In total, five wolves were illegally killed in Washington in 2024 and four of those deaths are still being actively investigated, officials said.

Gray wolves are endangered throughout Washington, but on the west side of the state, wolves are listed as federally endangered. In Eastern Washington, where a much larger population of wolves exists, the animals were delisted federally and are now only listed as endangered at the state level.

“Functionally, they are managed pretty much the same on both sides of the state except that lethal removals aren’t allowed under federal management, whereas we utilize it in Eastern Washington when there is a pattern of depredations on livestock,” FWS told MyNorthwest.

According to WDFW, gray wolves have been listed as endangered under state law since 1980.

Anyone with information on the death of the wolves is asked to call FWS using the agency’s tip line at 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-397-8477) or fill out a report via FWS’s website. People can also call WDFW at 877-933-9847 or send an email to reportpoaching@dfw.wa.gov. The news release added callers can remain anonymous.

Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.