A state wolf specialist in Montana says mountain lions have killed two radio-collared wolves in the Bitterroot Valley since January.

Liz Bradley of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said she found a dead wolf last week with skull puncture wounds that are a trademark of a mountain lion.

She said the lion ate part of the wolf and covered the rest with debris. In January she found another dead wolf west of Lolo with the same wounds.

Bradley said a deer carcass nearby indicates the two predators apparently fought. She said last year she found two other wolves with puncture wounds in their skulls.

She said now only four packs in the Bitterroot Valley have a wolf with a radio collar.