Wolves not to blame for declining deer populations on Vancouver Island, says researcher

From the Campbell River Mirror in Canada:

A recent wolf sighting in Campbell River raised questions about the animal’s conservation status on Vancouver Island, and whether wolves are responsible for reduced numbers of animals including deer and marmots.

Chris Darimont, a leading wolf expert and Raincoast Research Chair at the University of Victoria, says there’s no immediate threat to wolf populations on Vancouver Island, and forestry practices, not wolf populations, are to blame for a decline in animals such as deer.

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‘Garbaging for bears’ on federal land endangers grizzlies, wolves

From UPI.com:

DENVER, July 16 (UPI) — Hunters luring black bears to “bait sites” loaded with bread, donuts and dog food on federal lands are putting endangered grizzlies and wolves at risk, critics say.

With the fall hunting season set to begin in August, conservationists are sounding the alarm that the hunting method to cull black bears also endangers grizzlies and wolves at the top of the food chain.

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Washington State OKs killing of wolf pack members preying on cattle in Ferry County

From KHQ.com in Washington:

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has authorized killing some members of a wolf pack that are preying on cattle in northeastern Washington state.

Agency director Kelly Susewind on Wednesday gave authority for the state to kill some members of the OPT pack in an effort to change the behavior of the pack.

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Group Hoping To Get Wolf Reintroduction Measure On 2020 Ballot

From CBSDenver.com:

JACKSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) — A recent sighting of a possibly Gray Wolf in Jackson County has stirred up an old debate about reintroducing wolves to Colorado. Members of The Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund are currently gathering signatures to get a measure on the 2020 ballot to do that.

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13 sheep lost in Wood County, Wisconsin, wolf attack

From CBS58.com in Milwaukee, Wisconsin:

TOWN OF HANSEN, Wis. (AP) — A central Wisconsin farm has lost the majority of its livestock in an attack by a pack of wolves.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 13 sheep were killed on a farm in the Wood County Town of Hansen. WSAW-TV says the dead sheep were discovered Monday. An investigator determined they were killed by wolves. Only one sheep survived.

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Gray wolf possibly spotted in Colorado

From 9News.com:

JACKSON COUNTY, Colorado — Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) biologists are working to confirm a wolf sighting in Jackson County and another in Grand County, according to a CPW Facebook post.

That’s a pretty big deal because the gray wolf and the Mexican wolf (listed separately as a subspecies) are classified as federally endangered in Colorado, CPW says on its website. And until recently, gray wolves were gone from Colorado, the last ones were killed by about 1940.

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Is The Fight Against Chronic Wasting Disease Another Argument For Wolf Reintroduction?

From Colorado Public Radio:

Last year, Eric Washburn shot and killed a mule buck in Northern Colorado. Its thick coat and massive rack of antlers convinced him of the animal’s health, so he had the meat processed and chucked it into his freezer.

A few weeks later, a mandatory Colorado Parks and Wildlife test revealed the animal had chronic wasting disease. The deadly neurological condition was first discovered in Fort Collins, in 1967. It’s similar to mad cow disease, but affects deer, elk and moose.

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A Surprising Idea About the Risks of Extinction

From The Atlantic:

Isle Royale is 200 square miles of land in the watery expanse of Lake Superior. One cold winter 70 years ago, wolves came over an ice bridge and settled into a largely isolated island existence. Unfortunately, island life has not been good for them.

By 2016, the number of wolves on Isle Royale declined from a peak of 50 to just two, a male and a female. As a result of inbreeding, they were half-siblings as well as father and daughter. They had a pup together that lived less than a year. Even before that, scientists were finding wolves on Isle Royale with crooked spines and extra ribs.

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Rewilding: As farmland and villages are abandoned, forests, wolves and bears are returning to Europe

From phys.org:

Rewilding is often thought of as a fantastical vision of the future. One day we might share the landscape with wolves and bears, but in the present day, it seems unlikely. For many people in Europe though, that’s exactly what they’ve been doing for at least the past decade.

Rewilding means bringing back the species and habitats which have disappeared from a region. Initially, conservationists imagined creating vast nature reserves which could be connected by “wildlife corridors” of , so that carnivores such as lynx could be reintroduced and thrive in a landscape that’s been heavily altered by humans.

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Norwegian Farmer shoots wolf, police investigate

From newsinenglish.no:

A police investigation is underway in Hedmark, the southeastern Norwegian county where farmers feel most threatened by wolves, after a local sheep rancher shot a wolf three times with a rifle early Tuesday morning. He claims he found the wolf in an area where his sheep were grazing, but police haven’t found any injured or dead sheep.

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(Warning: Graphic photo included in post.)