Pittsburgh author tracks comeback of large mammals in the Eastern U.S.

From Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting:

As a writer about the natural world, Andrew Moore has a pretty good idea what animals belong where. But several years back, a news item took him by surprise. Elk, it read, were being reintroduced to southern West Virginia. Wait, Moore thought: Reintroduced? These massive ungulates — mature bulls can weigh half a ton — once lived just a few hours’ drive south of his home in Pittsburgh?

“I couldn’t really picture this animal that I associated with the West in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia,” he said.

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Scientists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Wolves That May Have Traveled by Boat with Humans

From People.com:

Two ancient wolves discovered inside a cave on a tiny Swedish island are raising new questions about how closely humans and wolves may have lived together thousands of years ago.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers analyzed the remains of two canids found in Stora Förvar Cave on Stora Karlsö, a small island in the Baltic Sea. Genetic testing revealed the animals were wolves dating back roughly 3,000 to 5,000 years — but how they ended up on the isolated island is the mystery.

Isle Royale campground temporarily closed because of ‘increasingly bold’ wolf

From Michigan Public Radio:

Officials at Isle Royale National Park are temporarily closing parts of a popular campground — and implementing special measures at two others — because of an “increasingly bold” wolf.

The closure affects individual tent and group campsites at the Three Mile Campground.

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In Deschutes County [Oregon], one group of wolves struggle while another thrives

From The Bulletin:

One of Deschutes County’s two established wolf packs appears to have failed to produce pups this year, while the county’s other resident pack likely added another litter despite several wolf deaths, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

ODFW wolf biologist Aaron Bott said Wednesday that biologists have found no evidence that the Metolius pack, which ranges in the Sisters area, successfully reproduced this spring.

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Wolf attack in Oconto County [Wisconsin] , kills calf

From WTAQ:

On July 7, 2026, USDA-Wildlife Services verified that wolves killed a calf on a property in the town of Maple Valley, Oconto County. Auditory deterrents have been deployed as a non-lethal abatement measure.

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Divisions emerge as WA looks to retool its wolf shooting rules

From Washington State Standard:

A little more than two weeks ago, the director of the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife ordered the killing of one or two wolves in southeast Washington after a series of attacks occurred on livestock. Before the June 23 order was carried out, wildlife officers found one wolf already dead.

The adult uncollared male had been illegally shot likely two days before the order, according to Fish and Wildlife. On June 30, agency officials killed a second wolf as part of the lethal removal operation. The agency’s police are investigating the illegal shooting.

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Study reveals what California wolves are eating. And it’s not good

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

California wolves are feeding mostly on cattle, a new study shows, a finding that underscores one of the biggest challenges posed by the recent return of the endangered predator.

The study, published Wednesday in the scientific journal PLOS One, estimates that pasturing cattle constitute about 55% of the gray wolf diet in California. Natural prey, including mule deer, small mammals and birds, make up only about 40%.

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[British Columbia, Canada] considers extending wolf cull again to conserve threatened caribou

From CBC Radio Canada:

The B.C. government is considering another extension of its controversial wolf cull in efforts to conserve threatened caribou.

Habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as a subsequent increase in predators, are the main reasons for the decline of caribou populations, according to the province.

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Wolf skulls reveal species’ history

From Science in Poland:

The morphology of wolves is shaped primarily by the population they belong to, the types of prey they hunt and their demographic history, including the effects of human activity, according to a new international study published in the journal “Diversity and Distributions”.

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Alaska has killed 254 brown bears from the air. Will it save a caribou herd?

From Anchorage Daily News:

Scientists and advocates worry the state’s predator control gamble will fail but still expand aerial bear gunning across Alaska. Some proponents say the program is necessary because bears imperil rural residents’ subsistence foods.

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