Name released of Idahoan cited Wednesday for poaching a wolf

Five wolves have been killed so far during the Idaho wolf hunt. One was a pup illegally shot from the road in an area closed to hunting.

The Eagle man cited Tuesday by Idaho Fish and Game wardens for shooting a wolf outside of an open hunting zone was Randy Strickland.

The hunter was not immediately identified, but the Statesman acquired his name with a public records request of the Idaho Department Fish and Game. Strickland was issued citations for shooting a wolf in a closed season and shooting from a public road. Witnesses told officers he shot the wolf while standing in the road at the back of his pickup truck.

The wolf was shot about 6 p.m. Sunday in the McCall-Weiser wolf zone, which is closed to wolf hunting.

He called the 24-hour wolf harvest reporting line Tuesday morning and reported that the wolf had been killed in the Sawtooth wolf zone. Later that day he checked in the wolf at the Fish and Game office in the Nampa. He later told officers he thought he was in the Sawtooth wolf zone until he looked at a map back in camp Sunday evening.

An illegal take would be charged to the harvest limit of the zone in which it occurred. In this case, the wolf will be taken out of the McCall-Weiser wolf zone harvest limit.

The wolf is a small female, still a pup. Officers seized the wolf hide and skull, a rifle, camera and tag.

The investigation is ongoing and charges have not been filed with the court.