ORAIT KIS API>K.NDIX I 



reproductive status, and food habits. General protocols will be t'ollowcd to collect reproductive tracts, stomach and 

 colon contents, muscle tissue for genetic purposes, and any potentially disea.sed or parasitized tissues. Other 

 sampling or testing may be conducted, depending on the request or concerns of the submitting party and the 

 condition of wolf remains. 



Carcasses and biological samples will be submitted to the MFWP Wildlife Laboratory in Bozeman. If warranted, 

 tissues may be collected and forwarded to other laboratories for any specialized testing or forensic investigations. 

 The Wildlife Laboratory will be the primary repository for stored samples and necropsy data, as is the ca.se for some 

 other species. Through time, baseline data will be compiled, which prove invaluable in the long run. As baseline 

 data accumulate, the value of doing routine necropsies may diminish with time, and the submission of carcasses will 

 be reduced to special forensics or disea.se-related cases. Increasingly, these functions are shared with the Regional 

 Wildlife staff. Today's computer technologies enable locally collected data to be systematically collected and made 

 available to MFWP personnel statewide. As these applications are further developed and refmed, less responsibility 

 will be borne by the Wildlife Lab and more will be borne in the Regions. MFWP will continue informal 

 consultation and cooperation with the Wolf Project in YNP or other wolf researchers and managers. 



In the unlikely event of human injury or death during a wolf-human encounter, the wolf or wolves will be lethally 

 controlled and the carcasses forwarded to the MFWP Wildlife Laboratory. Carcasses will be tested for rabies or 

 other pre-disposing health factors. If a wolf bites a person during a capture and handling incident, a blood sample 

 will be drawn so it can be tested for rabies. 



Wolf Specimen Disposition 



Montana statutes permit citizens to possess the parts (antler, bone, skull, hide etc.) of lawfully taken big game, game 

 birds, furbearers, and fish or the parts of animals that died of natural causes. Possessing parts of animals that died 

 illegally or of unnatural causes is not pemiitted. For example, a citizen could pick up the antlers of an elk that died 

 from starvation but could not cut off the antlers of a deer recently hit by a car. Wolf carcasses and parts will be 

 discovered by or otherwise become available to the general public for a variety of reasons, including natural 

 mortality, accidental death, agency control actions, defense of life or property, and regulated public harvest. Rules 

 and regulations adopted by the MFWP Commission will govern possession of wolf parts. The general rule of thumb 

 is that it is not legal to possess parts of legally classified wildlife unless there are provisions for a regulated public 

 take - i.e. hunting regulations in the ca.se of big game, trapping regulations for furbearers, or special regulations 

 written for species in need of management. Possession and transport of gray wolf parts is also subject to the 

 Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), similar to the bobcat and river otter (Lutra 

 canadensis). The hides of bobcats, river otters, and wolves must be marked with a special tag. Tags are obtained 

 from MFWP and are only affixed to animal hides taken by legal means. It would be illegal to possess a wolf, 

 bobcat, or river otter hide without the CITES tag. 



Any wolf carcass found in the field should be left alone and reported to MFWP. In the short term, MFWP or WS 

 will conduct a field investigation and retrieve the carcass as a precautionary measure for public safety. In Idaho, 

 nine wolf carcas.ses in the last two years were discovered on national forest land. The USFWS National Forensics 

 Laboratory confinned that these wolves were poisoned with Compound 1080, banned by the Environmental 

 Protection Agency in 1972. TTiis poi.son is extremely dangerous to human health, and no antidote exists. All 

 carcasses, including those resulting from WS control actions or private actions through defense of life or property, 

 will be transferred to the MFWP Wildlife Laboratory. A wolf database will be created and maintained. Eventually, 

 the public will be able to keep wolf parts, consistent with the laws governing possession of other classes of wildlife 

 species, such as big game or furbearer. 



The entire carcass of wolves killed by private individuals in defen.se of life or property will be returned to MFAVP 

 and remain slate property, regardless of whether the incident occurred on public or private lands. Upon 

 confiscation, carcasses resulting from illegal killings also remain the property of MFWP. 



If the hide, bones, and/or skull are in good condition, they can be salvaged and used for educational purposes. 

 Priorities will be for research purposes, tribal cultural use, and general wolf education. These specimens may be 

 transferred to other government agencies, non-profit organizations, tribal authorities, or educational institutions for 

 general public benefit. Parts unsuitable for educational uses will be destroyed. 



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