Idaho wolf control board reports killing 110 wolves in 2020 over depredation concerns, plus putting radio collars on 3

From IdahoPress.com:

Idaho’s Wolf Depredation Control Board, which is funded by a mix of taxpayer funds, Fish & Game fee proceeds and livestock industry assessments, paid for killing 93 wolves in fiscal year 2020 for the protection of livestock, and another 17 to protect elk in the Lolo Elk Management Zone, the board reported to lawmakers today.

“Wildlife Services conducted 205 depredation investigations related to wolf complaints during fiscal year 2020,” Brian Oakey, deputy director of the Idaho Department of Agriculture, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee at the board’s annual budget hearing. Those investigations involved 111 different livestock producers in 16 counties, he said. They documented 102 confirmed depredations, or attacks on livestock by wolves; 28 probable; 53 possible or unknown; and “23 complaints were determined to be causes other than wolves,” Oakey said.

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Environmental groups sue Trump administration for delisting gray wolves

From the Navajo-Hopi Observer in Arizona:

WASHINGTON — Several environmental groups have come together to try to restore endangered species protection for the gray wolf.

On Jan 14, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Oregon Wild and the Humane Society of the United States.

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New Mexico zoo sends endangered wolf pack to Mexico

From ABCNews.go.com:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A pair of endangered Mexican gray wolves and their seven pups have been sent from a zoo in New Mexico‘s largest city to Mexico as part of conservation efforts in that country.

Officials at the ABQ BioPark in Albuquerque confirmed Tuesday that the wolves were loaded up in separate crates and trucked south last week. The pack of predators will eventually be released into the wild after they learn to hunt and survive on their own.

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India: Karnataka to get its first wolf sanctuary at Bankapur

From The News Minute:

If all goes well, Karnataka will soon get its first Indian Grey Wolf sanctuary in Koppal district of Kalyana-Karnataka region. The Karnataka Wildlife Board, which is led by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, is expected to approve the proposal to set up the sanctuary, on Tuesday. The 822.03 acres of forest area, located in the drylands of Bankapur village in Koppal district, is expected to be named as ‘Bankapur Wolf Sanctuary’.

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Colorado begins wolf reintroduction plans

From The Journal:

DENVER – Colorado could have to navigate years of pending litigation over the Trump administration’s delisting of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act as it tries to enact its own voter-approved initiative to reintroduce the predator to the state, top wildlife officials were told Thursday.

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There’s Never Been a Better Time to Spot Wolves in Yellowstone — Here’s How to See Them

From Travel & Leisure:

According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2021 is the year of the ox. According to wildlife biologists, it could be the year of the wolf. It’s easy to argue there’s never been a better time for wolf watching in Yellowstone, where the wolf population is estimated to be up by as much as 20 percent. Last year marked a quarter of a century since wolves were re-introduced to the park. Today, it’s home to some of the best wolf watching in the world. Yellowstone’s gray wolves don’t know we’re in the midst of a global pandemic. They have no clue they were removed from the endangered species list in October. All they know is they need to survive another winter.

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Six environmental groups sue to relist gray wolves under Endangered Species Act

From the Star Tribune in Minnesota:

Six environmental groups sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday, aiming to keep endangered species protections for wolves, which have largely recovered in northern Minnesota but are still gone from most of their native range in the United States.

The Fish and Wildlife Service delisted the wolf throughout the Lower 48 in October, saying the population was high enough that federal protections were no longer warranted.

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Colorado governor urges CPW to move quickly on wolf reintroduction

From The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado:

The first steps toward reintroducing wolves into Colorado began with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission approving a preliminary process for developing a wolf management plan.

The plan, which is required after the passage of Proposition 114 in November, was considered during more than six hours of informational presentations and discussion on wolf reintroduction that covered biology, federal delisting of wolves and the importance of stakeholder engagement.

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Dire Wolves Were Not Really Wolves, New Genetic Clues Reveal

From Scientific America:

Dire wolves are iconic beasts. Thousands of these extinct Pleistocene carnivores have been recovered from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. And the massive canids have even received some time in the spotlight thanks to the television series Game of Thrones. But a new study of dire wolf genetics has startled paleontologists: it found that these animals were not wolves at all, but rather the last of a dog lineage that evolved in North America.

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Canada: Resource board calls on N.W.T. to end controversial aerial wolf cull

From CBC.ca:

The board responsible for managing the caribou herds of the eastern N.W.T. is recommending the territorial government end one of its most controversial programs aimed at preventing their decline.

The Wekʼèezhìi Renewable Resources Board (WRRB) issued their final recommendations Friday on a one-year wolf cull pilot program that saw the government hire marksmen to shoot wolves from helicopters, in an effort to decrease their impact on the population of two key caribou herds.

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