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Grizzer, an ambassador wolf at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota, was euthanized Thursday, Jan. 27.

Contact: Grant Spickelmier, Executive Director
Office: 763-233-7132
grant@wolf.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Grizzer, an ambassador wolf at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota, was euthanized Thursday, Jan. 27.
Grizzer was more than 17 ½ years old and was the Center’s oldest wolf in its 30 years of having an ambassador pack. He and his packmates at the Center have educated over half a million visitors at the Center’s exhibit in Ely and countless more online through regular YouTube videos, wolf logs and webcams.
Many of those webcam visitors watched along as Grizzer would race around the enclosure doing what later became known as the Grizzer 500.
“We’re all so sad today,” said Grant Spickemier, the Center’s executive director. “Grizzer meant so much to so many of us and to so many people around the world. Watching him encourage his retirement packmates to race around the enclosure with him during those Grizzer 500s was inspiring to all of us.”
The decision to euthanize him came after a consultation with the Center’s trusted veterinarian in Ely. His condition began to decline on Jan. 26 when wolf care staff observed him having troubles. He was brought into the wolf care building and the veterinarian was called to begin monitoring him. Blood samples were taken and IV fluids and antibiotics were administered. A portable x-ray machine from the nearby Vermilion Community College veterinary technician program was brought in for chest and abdominal x-rays, but nothing significant was found.
Wolf Curator, Lori Schmidt stated “In between the vet exams, diagnostic testing and treatments, some of Grizzer’s trusted wolf care team members spent the day keeping him comfortable in the wolf care center. The special bond that is formed during the neonate pup socialization stage has the most value on the last days of an animal’s life.”
Despite some hopeful moments where Grizzer ate a pound of beef and took meds early on the morning of January 27, his decline and more obvious indication of distress prompted the decision to euthanize him at approximately 7:40 a.m.
Grizzer joined the Center’s ambassador pack in 2004 with his littermate Maya. He was moved to the retirement pack in 2011 after her tragic death. He had lost confidence in his status and without the dominance of his littermate, he couldn’t compete with the younger packmates.
While he was in retirement, Grizzer saw several wolves share the enclosure with him, including Denali, Luna and Aidan, ​​as well as Boltz in a neighboring retirement enclosure. He was also engaged with the Center’s 2021 pup, Rieka, often interacting with her through the fence that separates the Exhibit Pack from the Retirement Pack.
To learn more about Grizzer’s condition, he was transported to the Ely Veterinary Clinic for a necropsy performed by Dr. Kristine Woerheide. Those results will further educate staff as the Center continues to manage the three remaining ambassador wolves at the Center’s facility in Ely.
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. For more information about the International Wolf Center, visit wolf.org.

Without Federal Protection, Yellowstone’s Wolves Are Being Decimated

From the Sierra Club:

Rick McIntyre spent last May doing what he has done nearly every morning for the past 26 years: observing wolves in Yellowstone National Park. It was a special time. One of the Junction Butte pack’s breeding females, 907, had recently given birth, and her eight pups had emerged from the den. Often, up to 300 people joined McIntyre on the campground road where he set up his spotting scope so they could watch the pups nursing, wrestling, and tumbling about with the yearlings.

“Seeing the wolf family at their den was likely the best wildlife viewing opportunity in the world at the time,” recalls McIntyre, who has written several books based on his careful observations of Yellowstone’s wolves.

Click here for the full story.

Wolves may help keep deer — and brainworm — away from moose, MN study finds

From the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota:

Could having wolves in the area help keep deer and moose apart, and thus spare moose from a deadly parasite that’s spread by deer?

That’s the finding of a new study by University of Minnesota and Grand Portage Band scientists who found that having wolves around caused deer and moose to split up more, decreasing the likelihood that deer will spread parasitic brainworm to moose.

Click here for the full story.

‘Threatening’ Swiss wolf shot without permit

From SwissInfo.ch:

A game warden in Switzerland has shot dead a wolf without prior permission because the animal appeared to be stalking people.

The wolf was being monitored in the southeastern canton of Graubünden after its behaviour gave rise to concerns, reports Swiss public broadcaster SRF.

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DeFazio blasts Haaland over gray wolf protections

From EENews.net:

In a remarkably pointed critique, one of the most senior Democrats in the House yesterday voiced sharp disappointment with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland over her refusal to extend emergency Endangered Species Act protections to the gray wolf.

The chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) let loose following a phone call with Haaland to discuss the species, which was removed from the ESA list last January.

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Idaho wolf control board will have $1 million to kill wolves

From KREM.com:

BOISE, Idaho — State officials are requesting $392,000 from the general fund to kill wolves in Idaho, and with other revenue sources will have just over $1 million for that purpose starting this summer.

The Wolf Depredation Control Board made the request Wednesday to the Legislature’s powerful budget-setting committee.

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Ranchers in some states can shoot wolves that attack their livestock. But not in Colorado.

From the Colorado Sun:

Don Gittleson woke up Wednesday morning to a sight that’s starting to feel common on his North Park ranch: a cow torn up by wolves, the third attack on his livestock since a few days before Christmas. If this were Montana, Wyoming or Idaho, Gittleson could pull out a gun and shoot the predator dead.

But this is Colorado.

Wolves in Colorado are protected under state law. Killing them – no matter how many cows or sheep or pet dogs they attack – is not allowed.

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New documentary, Return of the Wolves: Restoring Ecological Balance to Isle Royale, released

From the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation:

The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation and its collaborative partners have released a new documentary film, “The Return of Wolves: Isle Royale National Park,” a culmination of a four-year, ongoing initiative that studies how the predator/prey relationship between wolves and moose was re-established on Isle Royale National Park.

The corresponding free educational plans in “Lessons from the Wilderness” offer educators in the classroom and homeschool settings the opportunity to teach students about the unique relationship between wolves and moose on Isle Royale National Park and how it alters the ecosystem. This program has lessons for K-12 learners in four age groups, with a curriculum most relevant and appropriate for each grade level.

Click here to watch the video.

A ‘heinous crime’ was committed in Arizona when a rare Mexican grey wolf was shot and killed, causing outrage

From Cengnews.com

Following the reported shooting of an endangered Mexican grey wolf in Arizona earlier this month, there has been an outpouring of criticism.

Last year, the wolf, named Anubis after the Egyptian jackal-god of death, was spotted in the state. According to the Arizona Central news site, the wolf was shot and killed on January 2.

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Ranchers argue new wolf hazing rule isn’t a solution to predation

From The Durango Herald in Colorado:

Some ranchers say Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s new wolf hazing rules will not mitigate the impacts that wolves will have on ranching.

The CPW Commission, which sets regulations for the state’s park and wildlife programs, unanimously approved emergency regulations allowing livestock owners to haze gray wolves. But without an option for lethal action, ranchers think wolves will still impact their operations.

Click here for the full story.