From KUNC.org:
Dan Thompson says he has seen wolves at their best, and their worst.
As the big carnivore supervisor for Wyoming Fish and Game, Thompson has gotten to step within a few feet of a wolf after biologists prepared to tranquilize the animal in a trap.
“Just to see that yellow in the eyes and that little bark and howl, I mean, it kind of penetrates your soul quite honestly,” Thompson said last month from his home in Lander, Wyoming.
From Colorado State University:
A free, five-part web series will explore Colorado wolf reintroduction through the lens of science, policy and lived experiences. The series aims to discuss the implications of the gray wolf reintroduction Ballot Proposition 114 that will appear on the Colorado ballot in November. If passed, the initiative would charge the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to reintroduce wolves to the state no later than 2023.
From the Duluth News Tribune:
Paul Sundberg and David Johnson woke up early on Monday, well before sunrise, and headed up the Gunflint Trail on a wild moose chase.
The two Grand Marais-based photographers were hoping to call in a lovesick bull moose for some close-up photos. But what they encountered instead was a truly magical moment in the Northland outdoors.
From Big Country News Connection:
BOISE — Over the past year, more wolves were killed in Idaho than in any other year since at least 2013.
From July 1, 2019, to June 30, 570 wolves were killed by hunters, vehicles, traps and other causes, according to data from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Most of the wolves were killed by trappers and hunters. The Fish and Game Commission earlier this year extended the wolf-trapping and hunting seasons and increased the number of tags a hunter or trapper could buy.
From WXPR radio in Wisconsin and the Associated Press:
Wisconsin wildlife officials estimate the number of wolves in the state has increased by about 13% from last year.
The state Department of Natural Resources said Thursday that surveys put the overwinter population between 1,034 to 1,057 wolves. The 2018-19 estimate was 914 to 978 wolves. The number of packs detected increased from 243 to 256.
Isle Royale National Park
NEWS RELEASE
Release Date: September 14, 2020
Contact:
Liz Valencia, 906-483-7721, liz_valencia@nps.gov
Mark Romanski, 906-483-8860, mark_romanski@nps.gov
Wolf Pups Born on Isle Royale!
HOUGHTON, MICH – Isle Royale National Park and State University of New York-College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) have documented reproduction for wolves introduced to Isle Royale in 2018 and 2019, a key element of the National Park Service wolf introduction program’s success, https://globalwildlifecc.org/research/species-recovery/isle-royale-wolf-recovery. GPS collar data and images from remote cameras suggest pups were born in 2019 and 2020. An exact number of pups is yet to be determined.
GPS collar data from female wolf 014F, translocated from Michipicoten Island, Ontario, in March 2019 suggested denning in spring 2019. This wolf established several rendezvous sites that spring and summer. Images from a remote camera taken on September 29, 2019, reveal that wolf 014F likely gave birth to at least two pups. In addition, researchers at Michigan Technological University (MTU) observed a likely pup in February 2020, https://isleroyalewolf.org/.
Genetic analyses of scats collected at one of the rendezvous sites will be conducted and if pups are confirmed, it suggests wolf 014F likely was pregnant before translocation to Isle Royale.
We have no other evidence that reproduction occurred in 2019.
Analyses of GPS location data for wolf reproduction in 2020 supported denning activity in early April for female wolf 001F. This wolf, captured on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation in northeastern
Minnesota, was the first wolf translocated to Isle Royale in September 2018. Her GPS collar attempted to obtain locations during early April 2020 but failed, indicating the collar was underground or in dense vegetation. Investigations of the den site in June
2020, after wolves had moved away, resulted in biologists collecting 18 pup-sized scats. Genetic analysis conducted on these scats will help to determine the minimum number of pups born to wolf 001F.
Additionally, in July 2020, researchers obtained images from a remote camera of a single pup. Only a few hours later, an image of a single adult wolf at that same site was identified. Based on GPS data, this pup was born to female wolf 014F or 015F. Visitors reported pup-sized tracks near this same location in early August and MTU researchers collected 13 pup-sized scats nearby which will assist in determining the minimum number of pups in this litter.
“We can estimate the minimum number of pups born annually from scats collected at den and rendezvous sites, as well as monitor the genetic health of the population through time,” said Mark Romanski, NPS biologist and wolf introduction program coordinator at the park.
“Documenting reproduction is critical to the success of any introduction effort. In contrast to 2019 where female wolf 014F was likely pregnant before translocation, the breeding and rearing of two litters of pups this spring was a major step toward their recovery.
We will continue to evaluate reproduction and recruitment of Isle Royale’s wolves using multiple lines of evidence including GPS collar data, remote cameras, DNA from wolf scats, and observations.” noted Dr. Jerry Belant, SUNY- ESF professor assisting the NPS with characterizing the wolf introduction program. Continuing to track this population closely will allow the NPS and its collaborators to evaluate the long-term success of the introduction and how wolves impact the ecosystem.
By 2018, with the wolf population at Isle Royale down to only 2, the National Park Service (NPS) and partners initiated an introduction, releasing 19 wolves at Isle Royale National Park from
September 2018 through September 2019. Today, the NPS and research collaborator, SUNY- ESF released a summary report of the introduction effort so far,
https://globalwildlifecc.org/research/species-recovery/isle-royale-wolf-recovery.
Using location data retrieved from global positioning system (GPS) collars, scientists
monitored important aspects of wolf ecology, such as social organization, summer predation, mortality, and reproduction to determine the success of the project.
The NPS and research partners estimated as many as 14 wolves were present on Isle Royale as of April 2020.
“We are grateful to all our partners who worked tirelessly to support this historic restoration effort and we look forward to continuing our numerous collaborations that are helping to ensure
we meet our objectives for restoring this apex predator to the Isle Royale ecosystem. We will now evaluate the program’s efforts to date to determine whether further translocations are warranted,” said Superintendent Denice Swanke, Isle Royale National Park.
To learn more about Isle Royale’s wolves and the introduction efforts, you can watch CuriosityStream’s original film Breakthrough: Return of the Wolves, produced in partnership with the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation https://curiositystream.com/returnofthewolves and read the recently published summary report at https://www.nps.gov/isro/index.htm.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for the 417 parks in the National Park System and work with communities
across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on
Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice,
Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice,
and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.
Liz Valencia
Manager, Interpretation and Cultural Resources Division
Isle Royale National Park
800 E. Lakeshore Drive
Houghton, MI 49931
906-487-7153
906-483-7721
From phys.org:
During domestication, dogs most probably have been selected for increased tractability (meant as controllability or ease in handling). If so, then considerable differences should be found between domestic dogs and their closest wild relatives, wolves, in this trait. To reveal if such a difference exists, researchers at the Family Dog Project, Eötvös Loránd University assessed the development of tractability in hand-raised wolves and similarly raised, 3-to-24-week-old dogs during fetching, calling, obeying sit signal, hair brushing and walking in a muzzle.
From the Vail Daily in Colorado:
Gray wolf reintroduction is on Colorado’s ballot this fall. With it comes widely differing views about one of the most controversial animals in the West, and what its return would mean for the state.
Advocates like Rob Edward, president of Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund, which gathered signatures to put reintroduction to a statewide vote, say bringing the gray wolf back to Colorado works on many levels for many people.
From the Wausau Daily Herald:
ODANAH – Tribal representatives and conservationists are asking to be included in any process that may decide the state’s response to the increasing gray wolf population.
They believe the animal might soon be removed from the federal list of endangered species, opening up hunting for population control or trophies.
From the Associated Press:
The Trump administration plans to lift endangered species protections for gray wolves across most of the nation by the end of the year, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday.
“We’re working hard to have this done by the end of the year and I’d say it’s very imminent,” Aurelia Skipwith told The Associated Press in a phone interview Monday.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.