SPOKANE, Wash. -- The number of gray wolves in Washington nearly
doubled in the past year, according to a new survey released
Friday by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The survey
found at least 51 wolves in nine packs in Washington state,
including five successful breeding pairs. The 2011 study
documented just 27 wolves, five wolf packs and three breeding
pairs. Wildlife wolf program director Nate Pamplin said the
actual number of wolves is likely much higher, since lone wolves
often go uncounted and those that roam Washington but do not den
here are not included in the survey. Biologists already suspect
there are two additional wolf packs in the state. Using
estimates of the average pack size in other western states,
Pamplin said there could easily be as many as 100 wolves in
Washington "The survey shows that our state's wolf population is
growing quickly," Pamplin said in a press release. "That growth
appears to be the result of both natural reproduction and the
continuing in-migration of wolves