LANDER - At least 13 wolves were killed in Wyoming in the first 10 days following their removal from the federal endangered species list.

If that pace were to continue, all of the known wolves in the Cowboy State's new wolf predator management area would be dead in fewer than three weeks, and 120 of the canines would be killed in the first three months of state management.

But such projections really have no value, a Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman said Friday, because there's no way the current pace of wolf kills can continue. And once the population in the predator area is exhausted, no additional wolves could be legally killed without Game and Fish Department approval.

More than 90 percent of Wyoming's estimated 350 wolves live inside the wolf trophy game zone, in the extreme northwest of the state, where the animals generally cannot be killed without a permit.

Before wolves were delisted March 28, an estimated 30 to 35 of the animals were living outside the trophy zone, in the new predator management area, where the canines can be shot on sight.

All 13 of the wolves known to have been killed so far have been taken in the predator zone - 11 of them in Sublette County, and two in Fremont County.

"I think the pace is going to slow down for a couple of reasons," said Eric Keszler, spokesman for the Game and Fish Department. "First, there's not a whole lot of wolves in the predatory management area; the majority of Wyoming's wolves are in the trophy game area. Second, I think wolves will start to get smart, figure out what's going on and be harder for hunters to locate and track down."

Of the three latest confirmed kills, two of them were taken April 3 - one male and one female - in the South Pass area between Lander and Farson, according to Keszler. And one male wolf was destroyed April 6 near Bondurant.

No further information was available regarding the exact locations or circumstances of the kills.

Because people have up to 10 days to report wolf kills in the predator area, it is possible more than 13 have been killed.

"People shouldn't be alarmed," Keszler said. "I think what people need to realize is, last year the (U.S.) Fish and Wildlife Service took 68 wolves in Wyoming. I don't see us taking a whole lot more wolves than that."

Since 1995, Wyoming's wolf population has increased by an average of 24 percent annually, according to Ed Bangs, the former federal wolf recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. About 10 percent of the total wolf population has been killed annually due to conflicts with wildlife, and about 9 percent has been killed illegally every year.

With an estimated population of 350 wolves in Wyoming, more than 80 of the canines would have to be killed in the Cowboy State this year before the population even starts to level off, let alone decline, Keszler said.

When wolves were under federal management, nearly all of the animals that were destroyed in the current predator zone were taken after they killed or bothered livestock.

Since delisting, at least some of the killed wolves have been shot by hunters, at times near elk feedgrounds. But Game and Fish officials do not know how many have been killed for sport, or reasons other than livestock protection.

Because the Game and Fish Department does not collect any detailed information regarding wolf kills in the predator area, and it makes no distinctions regarding types of wolf kills, it is impossible for the department to say how many wolves in the predator zone have been killed due to livestock conflicts, and how many for sport, Keszler said.

Under Wyoming's wolf management plan, the state is committed to maintaining 15 breeding pairs and at least 150 wolves inside state lines. When the animals were removed from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act at the end of March, there were an estimated 23 breeding pairs in the state - 10 inside Yellowstone National Park and 13 outside, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Our wolf management plan commits us to managing for 15 breeding pairs, and we're not going to let it get below that," Keszler said. "But we're also not trying to reduce numbers to that bottom-floor number, either. We will proceed conservatively. We're going to take a conservative approach to the hunting season this fall in the trophy game area."

Keszler didn't know as of Friday afternoon whether any of the wolves killed in the predator zone in the last two weeks were breeding wolves.

Regardless of the Game and Fish Department's reassurances, the killing of more than a dozen wolves in Wyoming - almost right out of the delisting gate - looks, to some, like something to be worried about.

"It's alarming," said Louisa Willcox, wildlife advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is one of the conservation groups that is likely to be bringing suit against the wolf delisting decision at the end of this month. "These are just the wolves that have been reported. There's a possible 10-day lag between the day the wolves are killed and the day they are reported, so there could be a lot more dead wolves out there."

Willcox agrees that after many of the animals in the predator area are destroyed, the pace of the killing will probably slow down for a few months. But the wolves that are killed will soon be replaced by newly dispersing animals following the previous wolves' scent trail.

"The idea that we'll kill them off and then the conflicts will slow is flawed," she said. "As these areas become vacant (of wolves), there will be singles and couples checking them out and setting up shop. As long as there's suitable habitat, new wolves will connect the dots."

If all of the future dispersers are killed at the pace currently being witnessed in Wyoming, a great deal more wolves will be killed on an annual basis in the predator area than have been in the past, Willcox said.

Environment reporter Chris Merrill can be reached at chris.merrill@trib.com or at (307) 267-6722.