EWEN — Official records show that in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, only five out of approximately 900 livestock operations, or about 0.006%, experienced a conflict with wolves in 2017. This number is down from 2016, when seven U.P. livestock farms experienced a verified loss caused by wolves. The records also confirmed that very few of the U.P.’s wolf packs are involved with livestock conflicts.

The National Wolfwatcher Coalition analyzed data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act from wolf depredation and loss compensation records maintained by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The records indicated that of the nearly 50,000 head of cattle in the U.P. wolves were responsible for the death of five calves and one adult cow.