Moffat County, Colorado, wolves photographed on game camera

From The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado:

New images of the wolves that have been living around Moffat County show two animals rolling and playing, while audio recordings indicate the presence of at least four wolves.

The photos and audio recordings were captured by Defenders of Wildlife, which is studying the pack’s behavior. Karin Vardaman, manager of the Working Circle, an initiative led by Defenders of Wildlife that focuses on reducing conflict between wolves and ranchers, said understanding the pack and the local environment will help with that work.

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Landscape of fear: why we need the wolf

From The Guardian in the UK:

There’s a monument near Brora, 60 miles short of John o’Groats, that claims to mark the spot where the last wolf in Sutherland was killed. I pass it often in the car. The wolf, it says, was killed by the hunter Polson in or about the year 1700.

I know this story. Polson, so it goes, was standing watch outside the wolf’s lair while his sons laid waste to the pups inside. When the she-wolf returned from the hunt, racing to the aid of her young, she bounded past the hunter and, as she did, he grabbed her by the tail. From inside the den – now plunged into darkness as Polson and the wolf struggled at its entrance – came, in Gaelic, a shout of alarm: “Father! What’s blocking the light?” To which Polson replied: “If the tail comes away at the root, you’ll soon find out!”

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More wolves spotted in Colorado; animal remains a state endangered species

From 9News.com:

MOFFAT COUNTY, Colo. — After Colorado voters approved Proposition 114 – which asks to allow Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to reintroduce and manage gray wolves – the agency has again confirmed the presence of wolves in Moffat County.

While the gray wolf remains under the management control of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service until at least Jan. 4, when the proposed removal of Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections would take effect, CPW continues to monitor the area and take sighting reports, the agency said Monday.

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How to count a wolf: WDFW video features stunning aerial perspective

From SWXRightNow.com:

How do you count one of the world’s more elusive ground animals?

Very carefully.

That’s one of the messages from a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife video released Thursday called “How to Count a Wolf.”

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Agriculture department grant to help ranchers coexist with wolves, bears

From the Albuquerque Journal:

Nelson Shirley likes ranching in the rugged country home to Mexican gray wolves.

But the president of Spur Lake Cattle Co. also spends thousands of dollars each year paying range riders to keep wolves from killing his cattle in southwest New Mexico and southeast Arizona.

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As Jackson Hole’s wolves gained ground, lions stumbled

From the Jackson Hole News & Guide in Wyoming:

Wolves’ return to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem a quarter century ago has been the primary force suppressing local mountain lion populations, a new study has concluded.

That hypothesis was tested and confirmed using data amassed over the 16 years that the Teton Cougar Project tracked 147 cats on the east side of Jackson Hole. It was already known that lion numbers in this area fell by half during the study period, which coincided with wolves reoccupying the landscape. While the new canine competition was suggested as an explanation for the puma decline, until now the connection had never been confirmed with a vigorous analysis.

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Idaho wolf removals, depredation investigations, down

From the Capital Press:

USDA Wildlife Services removed fewer wolves in Idaho between July and September than the same period a year ago.

The agency also received fewer requests from ranchers to investigate wolf-caused livestock deaths.

Investigations were down 24%, and wolf removals were down 31%.

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Wildlife Groups Challenge Red Wolf Rules

From Coastal Review Online:

Destiny for red wolves may be determined in the courtroom, as the clock is ticking louder for the seven remaining red wolves known to be roaming northeastern North Carolina.

In the most recent in a series of legal action against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its management of the critically endangered species, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the agency’s claim that it cannot release any more captive wolves into the wild, despite prior success of the management strategy.

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Scientists studying wolves as first responders against deadly brain disease

From the Independent in the UK:

Are the wolves of Yellowstone National Park the first line of defense against a terrible disease that preys on herds of wildlife?

That is the question for a research project underway in the park, and preliminary results suggest that the answer is yes. Researchers are studying what is known as the predator cleansing effect, which occurs when a predator sustains the health of a prey population by killing the sickest animals. If the idea holds, it could mean that wolves have a role to play in limiting the spread of chronic wasting disease, which is infecting deer and similar animals across the country and around the world. Experts fear that it could one day jump to humans.

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Gray Wolf Delisting Could Lead to Wolf Trapping, Hunting in Wisconsin

From WHBL.com:

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — The Gray Wolf is set to be taken off of the federal endangered species list in January.

That means the Wisconsin DNR has to decide how best to manage the population of just over 1,000 wolves that call the Wisconsin Northwoods and central forests home.

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