Hunters have reached the harvest limit of 15 wolves in the McCall-Weiser Wolf Hunting Zone.

The zone is now closed to wolf hunting. The McCall-Weiser zone is the second wolf hunting zone in the state to close because of the harvest limit being reached. The Upper Snake Zone closed on Nov. 2 when the harvest limit there of five wolves was reached.

Through Sunday, hunters in Idaho had killed 97 wolves. The state-wide harvest limit is 220.

Up to date wolf harvest information is available here.

As of Friday afternoon, the reported number of wolves killed by hunters in Idaho had reached 23, just a hair over 10 percent of the state wide quota of 220 .

The number of reported kills has quickened since all of the states wolf hunting areas opened Thursday. Prior to Oct. 1 only four areas were open to hunting.

Through Thursday 19 wolves had been killed by hunters. Four more were reported killed on Friday.

All of Idaho’s wolf hunting zones are now open and the reported take of wolves is on the rise.

Through Thursday, 19 wolves have been killed by hunters. The Sawtooth zone continues to be the most productive with seven wolves being taken there.

One wolf was taken in the Panhandle zone and another was taken in the Dworshak/Elk City zone Thursday, the same day both areas opened to hunting.

Below is a chart listing where wolves have been taken by hunters and what the harvest limit for each zone is. Click here to see the chart on-line.

Expect wolf harvest to increase starting next Saturday (Oct. 10) when general rifle season for deer and elk open across much of the state.

Idaho hunters have killed 13 wolves since hunting the once endangered species became legal four weeks ago. That is a rate of  just less than one wolf every two days.

The Sawtooth Zone has seen the most wolves taken. Hunters have killed five wolves there. The quota for the zone is 55.

Four wolves have been killed in the Middle Fork Zone that has a quota of 17. Two have been taken from  the Lolo Zone, and one each in the Selway and McCall-Weizer zones. The statewide quota is 220 which means 207 wolves could be killed before the season is closed. Wolf hunting ends Dec. 31 in most of the state’s zones but the Sawtooth and Lolo zones remain open through March 31.

As of today (Sept. 28) there are only four zones open to hunting. But all of the state’s zones will be open starting Thursday. There should be far more hunters in the field starting Oct. 10 when general rifle seasons for deer and elk open in much of the state. It’s likely with more hunters afield the wolf take will rise in a few weeks.

Click here to track the wolf hunting season.

In the latest edition of the High Country News, former Idaho Conservation League employee Mike Medberry, of McCall, writes it is time for environmentalists to stop opposing Idaho and Montana wolf hunts and to accept that wolves are a recovered species.

Read his essay here.

A total of eight wolves have been taken by hunters since Idaho’s season opened Sept. 1. The latest wolf was killed in the Middle Fork Zone and reported on the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Web site Tuesday.