Retired Game Warden Under Investigation After Shooting a Collared Wolf in Wisconsin. He Claims Self Defense

From Outdoor Life:

A retired Wisconsin conservation warden and prominent figure in state wildlife issues is under investigation for shooting a collared wolf, allegedly in self-defense. Pat Quaintance, who served on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wolf Management Committee, self-reported the shooting which took place around 1 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2023.

“Patrick Quaintance called us reporting that he killed a collared wolf that was at their back door,” Bayfield County Sheriff Chief Deputy Andy Runice, told the Ashland Daily Press. “Two of our deputies responded to the scene at 2:43 a.m. and took possession of the wolf. He said he shot the wolf because it had been hanging around his yard.”

 

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From ‘Wolf-sized’ to ‘Hi, puppy’: Suspected wolf reports in Colorado are hard to verify

From The Aspen Times:

Since wolves were re-introduced to the Western Slope back in December, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has seen an uptick in suspected sightings reported on its website, with some of the descriptions proving to be more helpful than others.

How big was the animal?

“Wolf-sized,” one observer in Routt County wrote on a CPW form. “Large” wrote another in Jackson County.

 

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Wildlife Science Center aims to repopulate endangered wolves

From Country News Review:

The Wildlife Science Center located in Stacy is staying busy hosting Mexican gray wolves for research and education.

What were once declared ecologically extinct in 1979, Mexican gray wolves are now slowly increasing in population. Over 40 years ago, only seven were left in the entire world. Now, there are about 245 throughout Arizona and New Mexico, the wolves’ native land.

 

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Italian city council appeals for help as wolves invade urban areas

From Yahoo News:

Its symbol is the she-wolf of Roman legend, but an Italian town renowned for its art and gastronomy is being menaced by real-life wolves.

There has been an increasing number of sightings on the outskirts of Siena, some 135 miles (220 kilometres) north of Rome, as the creatures nonchalantly pad along suburban streets.

 

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Gray wolf conservation classification open for public comment

From Washington Policy Center:

Gray wolves returned to our landscape in 2007. Since then, they have settled into the Northeast portion of the state with 30 of the 37 recognized packs in Washington residing there.

This week the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife announced the opening of a rulemaking regarding gray wolves. The department is asking for public input on changing the state’s conservation status of gray wolves from “endangered” to “sensitive.”

 

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$50,000 reward offered for information on deaths of 3 endangered gray wolves in Oregon

From CNN:

A trio of endangered gray wolves were found dead in southern Oregon and federal officials are offering a $50,000 reward for information about their deaths.

The bodies were found after the collars of two of the wolves put out a “mortality signal” on December 29, prompting a response from state wildlife protection personnel, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday.

The signals led authorities to the bodies of two collared wolves and one without a collar east of Bly, Oregon, the agency said. No details were provided on how the wolves died.

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Wolves are back in Colorado’s wilderness: Here’s why that’s great for Earth

From Phys.org:

For the first time in U.S. history, a federally listed endangered species has been reintroduced to the wild by the efforts of a lone state. Wolves in Colorado were not a mandate from Washington, D.C.; Coloradans voted for them.

 

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Colorado State University researchers find reintroduction of wolves doesn’t have rapid impact on ecosystems in Yellowstone

From CBS News:

Researchers with Colorado State University spent two decades studying the ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park, with the goal of learning whether or not the reintroduction of wolves had any rapid impacts on willows and beavers.

After more than 20 years of collecting data, the researchers found the reintroduction of wolves did not have a rapid or notable impact on those ecosystems in the park.

David Cooper and Tom Hobbs, research scientists with CSU, said the removal of wolves from ecosystems has a much more rapid impact on the area than the reintroduction does.

 

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RODENTICIDES WIDESPREAD IN ITALIAN WOLF CARCASSES

From The Wildlife Society:

Anticoagulant rodenticides are pervasive in the carcasses of dead wolves analyzed by researchers in central and northern Italy.

The ubiquitous presence of these chemicals widely used for rodent control is unique among large carnivores in Europe, say the researchers of a recent study published in Science of the Total Environment.

 

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Himalayan wolf listed as ‘vulnerable’ in IUCN, prompts concerted conservation efforts

From Mongabay:

After the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the Himalayan wolf as ‘vulnerable’ in its Red List of Threatened Species in 2023, wildlife experts are pushing for stronger conservation measures for the apex predator, considering various constraints and conflicts in its habitat.

The Himalayan wolf is found in the Himalayan region encompassing India, Nepal and the Tibetan Plateau of Western China. The IUCN report noted that only 2,275 to 3,792 individuals of the Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) are left in the wild.

 

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