International Wolf is our quarterly magazine where we share all aspects of the wolf story, from ranchers’ concerns to the spiritual thrill of meeting a wolf in the wild. Many of the world’s leading wolf biologists share their writing talents with us for in-depth articles.
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Magazines arrive in mid-February, mid-May, mid-August, and mid-November.
Winter 2024
Features
Through the eyes of a wolf
By Elana Hobkirk
Until recently, there have been no measurable studies linking facial expressions and emotional states in wolves. That’s now changing, and the author highlights the work of her recent study, which examines how wolf-like the facial expressions of dogs are. She also answers the question of how you measure dynamic facial expressions and determine emotional states in animals that cannot speak to you.Download Now.
Building, and mending, fences in Germany
By Peter Schüette and Annette Siegert
An ongoing project in Germany aims to foster coexistence between humans and wolves. This unique undertaking encourages volunteers with nature conservation interests to build wolf-deterrent fences together with livestock owners, thus bringing together usually opposing stakeholders and enabling a long-overdue dialogue between these two parties. The project’s name, “Herdenschutz Niedersachsen,” translates to “livestock protection.”
Do wolves really change rivers? Part I
By Jack Rabe
The complicated story of Yellowstone National Park’s trophic cascades is the topic of ongoing research in the park. Recent work shows that recovery of aspen and willow communities in Yellowstone since wolf reintroduction has not been as strong or widespread as claimed in a widely circulated video. Still, there has been some recovery, suggesting a trophic cascade has unfolded.
Recipients of 2024 Fellowships are Hard at Work
By Krista Woerheide
The three recipients of the 2024 Dr. L. David Mech Fellowships have had a busy year. All three are using their funding to learn more about wolves, with their work focusing on Mexican wolves, the Idaho Wolf Project and the Ghost Wolf Project. Here are updates on each of the three students and their work. Visit wolf.org for the 2025-2026 Fellowship projects and apply today.
Departments
From the Executive Director
Refocusing our Vision
by Grant Spickelmier
In April of 2023, I attended a strategic planning retreat with the board and staff of the International Wolf Center. Over two days, we discussed our hopes and aspirations for our organization and identified several strategies to strengthen our reach and educational impact.
We also reviewed our mission and vision statements and discussed whether they still reflected our work effectively. The general consensus was that they were all too long (especially our vision statement) and could use updating. A task force from the board was assigned to collect feedback from the staff and board and recommend new versions for approval. A process we initially thought would take only a few months ended up lasting well over a year, as will happen when you assign a group of highly educated, passionate people to write a statement together. We discussed the different meanings of words, whether words felt too passive or advocacy-focused, and the appropriateness of the Oxford comma! Eventually new statements emerged that our board unanimously approved this September.
Tracking the Pack
How Socialized Wolves Help Further Our Mission
By Giselle M . Narváez Rivera
When visitors see how our ambassadors interact with our wolf care team members, they are often surprised and have many questions. They may see a wolf licking a handler’s face with excitement or greeting handlers with a low-sweeping tail. This often leads them to think that wolves are just like their domesticated companions at home. And while wolves and dogs exhibit similar physical and behavioral traits due to their shared ancestry, they are not the same. One big difference is that we must work every day to build a trusting relationship with our wolves and to maintain their level of socialization. But why have socialized wolves?
Wolves of World
By Denise Hughett
Siberia
Recently, scientists from the MKAmmosov North-Eastern Federal University discovered the remains of a wolf believed to be 44,000 years old. The discovery marks the first time a large predator of this age has been found.
Denmark
With wolves recolonizing Denmark and western Europe, researchers decided to study which of three factors (human activity, darkness and deer activity) had the most impact on daily wolf activity. The results were published in May of this year in Wildlife Biology.
Turkey
A study published in Wildlife Biology in June is the first of its kind to monitor gray wolf movements in Turkey. Ranchers and farmers have learned to coexist with the canid, the image of which even appeared on Turkish currency at one time. Due to the cultural relationship to the animal, there has never been a need to launch an eradication campaign.
ITALY
An ethologist from the University of Pisa studied the facial expressions of wolves. The results of the study were published in August 2024 in Animal Behavior.
CANADA
In Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park, eastern wolves (Canis lycaon) exist in an isolated population. When individuals leave the park, they usually face two outcomes – either they are killed, or they hybridize with coyotes (Canis latrans). The park is about the size of Yellowstone National Park.
EUROPEAN UNION
With the recolonization of wolves within regions of the European Union (EU) comes the challenge of how to coexist and manage wolf populations. A September 2023 report indicated that now more than 20,000 wolves live in 23 EU countries.
Personal Encounter
The wolf that changed my life
By Taylor Rabe
There comes a time in everyone’s life when a core memory is created. Such a memory arises from a special moment that shapes the way your life turns out –– a memory that holds a small piece of your heart. You only get a few core memories throughout your life, and I have been fortunate enough to create one of my very own in Yellowstone National Park. After I graduated from The Ohio State University with a zoology degree in 2018, life felt extremely chaotic, and there were a lot of “unknowns,” as there often are for new graduates entering the adult world. On impulse, I moved from my small hometown in northeast Ohio, to an even smaller town near the northern border of Yellowstone National Park. After being hired as a naturalist working for Yellowstone Wolf Tracker, a wildlife guiding company founded by Dr. Nathan Varley and Linda Thurston, I had no idea of the events that would soon unfold, altering my life forever.
A Look Beyond
Red Wolf Recovery: Can Wildlife Crossing Structures Help?
By Cornelia Hutt and Kim Wheeler
Why does the red wolf cross the road?
The forests, fields and marshes of the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) on northeastern North Carolina’s Albemarle Peninsula are home to a small but slowly increasing population of wild red wolves. Intensively managed by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Red Wolf Recovery Program, endangered red wolves face daunting challenges.
