Federal wolf rule for Colorado to take effect Dec. 8

From The Daily Sentinel:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife has finalized a rule designating a nonessential, experimental population of gray wolves in Colorado, meaning it will be in place in time to provide the state more flexibility in managing the species as it begins reintroducing them, which it plans to do before year’s end.

The Fish and Wildlife Service said in a news release that the management flexibility that will be provided under the rule “can help to address potential conflicts between wolves and humans, and wolves and domestic animals while contributing to the conservation of the species.”

The wolf is federally listed as endangered in Colorado. The rule will loosen the federal protections provided to the species in the state, including by allowing killing of wolves in situations such as protection of livestock from wolf attacks.

 

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Leave It to Beavers? Not if You’re a Wolf.

From The New York Times:

Beavers are influential. By cutting trees and damming streams, these rodents change the world around them, raising water levels and creating habitats for diverse plants, insects, fish and more. They are some of the world’s best-known ecosystem engineers, a term for species that produce outsize effects on their environments.

Wolves are powerful. As apex predators, their facility at killing reverberates down the food web, and their direct effect on prey species may affect vegetation, other animals and even how streams flow.

 

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Matriarch of Oakland Zoo’s wolf pack euthanized after discovery of untreatable tumor

From CBS News Bay Area:

OAKLAND — The Oakland Zoo announced the death of the matriarch of its six-member gray wolf on Wednesday.

The zoo said, “We are broken hearted to share the news that Siskiyou, beloved mother of Oakland Zoo’s gray wolf pack of six, was humanely euthanized today after our vet team discovered a large mass in Siskiyou’s abdomen during a routine annual examination at our hospital early this morning.”

 

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Canid conversations: Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary offers a variety of tours to help visitors learn about its residents

From Albuquerque Journal:

During a visit to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, one might run across any number of members of the canid family.

The Ramah-based sanctuary is currently home to 78 animals, which includes wolves, wolfdogs, New Guinea singing dogs, coyotes and red foxes. While that is essentially maximum capacity, it’s also par for the course.

 

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Talking about carnivores means talking about culture, emotional symbolism

From Buckrail:

JACKSON, Wyo. — As highlighted in the 2023 Jackson Hole Wildlife Symposium, now is the time to talk about coexistence, particularly with large carnivores. However, experts suggest conversations about conflict are more rooted in the “cultural and social baggage” placed on predators than they are in the ecological considerations of coexistence.

According to Aaron Bott, a wolf biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, large carnivores are consistently interpreted as cultural and emotional symbols despite being biological entities.

 

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Eastern Oregon hunter reports killing wolf in self-defense while tracking elk

From Statesman Journal:

A hunter in eastern Oregon reported shooting and killing a wolf in self-defense last week, according to wildlife officials investigating the incident.

Officials said the hunter, whose name was not released, was tracking elk southeast of Seneca when a wolf came out from the timber in front of him.

 

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Wolf attacks woman’s dog outside of her home in Dawson City, Yukon

From CBC News:

Encountering a wolf in the wild is a rare occurrence.

A Dawson City, Yukon, resident had an encounter of a lifetime, but one that tragically she’ll never forget.

On Saturday morning, Catherine Lalonde and her children heard a commotion outside of their home on Dome Road.

“I heard what sounded like a dog fight outside,” said Lalonde. “I ran out and my dog, who was like a medium-size husky cross, not a small dog, was getting dragged into the forest by a big, black what I thought at first was a wolf.”

Without thinking twice. Lalonde explained, she grabbed the nearest object and tried to scare off the animal.

 

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Oregon Fish and Wildlife investigating death of wolf shot by elk hunter

From Central Oregon Daily:

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday it was investigating the circumstances of a wolf that was shot and killed in Grant County by an elk hunter who said he was defending himself.

Here is the full release from ODFW:

On the morning of November 2, 2023, an elk hunter called ODFW to report shooting and killing a wolf in self-defense in the North Malheur Hunt Unit. ODFW immediately contacted OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers.

An OSP Fish and Wildlife Division Sergeant, Fish and Wildlife Senior Trooper, and the District Biologist from ODFW responded to the scene and met the hunter.

 

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Feds approve Colorado’s plan to reintroduce wolves — and kill them in some cases

From Colorado Public Radio:

The federal government granted Colorado the authority to manage and kill wolves in specific circumstances on Tuesday, clearing a path for the state to meet a voter-approved deadline to release the predators by the end of the year.

The U.S. Endangered Species Act currently forbids anyone from harming or harassing wolves in Colorado. Under the final decision, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved a special exception — known as a 10(j) permit — designating the predators as an “experimental population” within state boundaries.

 

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Federal agency finalizes rule that lets Colorado decide when people can kill gray wolves

From 9News:

DENVER — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) finalized a rule Tuesday that gives the state of Colorado authority to create its own rules for gray wolf management, including when someone would be allowed to kill a wolf.

The final 10(j) rule, which designates new gray wolves as a “nonessential experimental population, will go into effect Dec. 8. Colorado Parks and Wildlife intends to reintroduce wolves to the state by Dec. 31, because of a 2020 ballot proposition.

 

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