Gray Wolf Recovery Brings New Management Challenges

From the Wildlife Society:

Gray wolf (Canis lupus) conservation has switched from trying to recover the species in the U.S. three decades ago, to trying to manage conflicts that arise as the predators’ populations and ranges expand.

“From a strictly biological standpoint, they’ve clearly recovered across the Lower 48 states,” said David Mech, a senior research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Mech, a senior research scientist with USGS, and his colleague David Ausband, also with the USGS, recently published a paper in Bioscience looking at the challenges gray wolf recovery has brought across the U.S. and the different ways science can help managers with those problems.

 

Click here for the full story.

Wolf advocates continue to push for canid protections

From Adirondak Explorer:

With a brown satchel slung over his shoulder and eyes scanning the ground, Joe Butera walked down a logging road in a remote section of the northern Adirondacks.

He was looking for canid tracks and scat, like he’d seen this past winter and spring.

“This is where I found three individual scats that were huge,” said the 70-year-old retired electrician, as he turned around at a gate and about 75 feet before an expanse of bog opened along the road.

 

Click here for the full story.

The latest clash over managing Washington’s wolves

From My Edmonds News:

Eleven conservation groups are asking Washington state to tighten its guidelines for when wolves that attack livestock can be killed.

The groups are concerned too many wolves are dying needlessly under the current system. Their petition to Washington’s Fish and Wildlife Commission describes the existing standards the state uses to authorize lethal action against the animals as “ineffective,” and calls for the panel to open a process to update the rules.

 

Click here for the full story.

Zoo works to recover endangered red wolves

From Tacoma Weekly:

At Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, it’s a big “howl yes!” for American red wolf conservation.

The Tacoma zoo has been a national leader in bringing this critically endangered species back from the brink of extinction since the 1970s. And decades later, 2023 has been one of the most successful years in the zoo’s history of working to recover this iconic American species.

 

Click here for the full story.

Bay area sounds off on wolf plans

From The Country Today:

As a Washburn farmer, Larry Ekholm is concerned about livestock and the threat wolves pose to his animals.

Wolves haven’t killed any of his cattle so far this year, but he knows fellow farmers who have been victim and has heard horror stories. He credits his own safeguards with keeping his herd safe.

 

Click here for the full story.

Final Red Wolf plan released

From Bertie Ledger-Advance:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is releasing the final revision of the Red Wolf Recovery Plan to guide recovery efforts for “America’s Red Wolf.”

The original recovery plan for the Red Wolf was approved in 1982 and was revised in 1984 and 1990. The Service published a draft revised recovery plan in September 2022 and is now making the final revised plan available to the public.

 

Click here for the full story.

 

Colorado secures the first wolves for reintroduction from Oregon

From the Denver Post:

The wolf population in northeastern Oregon is resilient and will not suffer long-term impacts from the captures, according to the news release. State officials plan to release the wolves on Colorado Parks and Wildlife land between Glenwood Springs, Vail and the Roaring Fork Valley.

Although Oregon wildlife officials will help by sharing information about wolf locations, the release says Colorado will be responsible for all costs of capturing and transporting the wolves. All captured wolves will be tested and treated for disease on-site in Oregon. Those with significant injuries — such as missing eyes or mange — won’t be transported to Colorado.

 

Click here for the full story.

Voyageurs wolf pups caught on camera

From Fox9:

The Voyageurs Wolf Project shared the first video of the Bug Creek Pack pups on social media this week.

Click here for the full story.

Watch: Wolf Pack Chases Hundreds of Stampeding Elk Before Taking Down a Cow

From Field and Stream:

There’s a reason Yellowstone National Park is the Shangri-La of wildlife viewing and photography—and it’s because you can encounter scenes like this there.

On Thursday, October 5, wildlife tour guide Michael Sypniewski shared a video on Instagram of a stunning wildlife interaction that took place within the park. The footage begins showing a massive herd of elk running roughly in the direction of Sypniewski’s camera. The reason they’re running so fast soon becomes apparent: A large pack of wolves is in hot pursuit of the herd. What happens next could be straight out of a National Geographic documentary.

 

Click here for the full story.

State having issues finding wolves for reintroduction plan

From CBS Colorado:

CBS News Colorado mountain newsroom reporter Spencer Wilsons provides the latest update on Colorado’s wolf reintroduction plan and why the state is having an issue finding wolves to use.

 

Click here for the full story.