[Idaho] Students hike, howl and collect DNA in Idaho wolf study

From UIdaho.edu:

At the edge of a mist-shrouded meadow near central Idaho’s Salmon River five student researchers stand knee deep in larkspur and Indian paintbrush as one of them uses a funnel to project a mock wolf howl into the silence around them. After a few tries, a wild wolf returns a howl from a forested mountain slope on the other side of the clearing.

U of I wolf researcher and doctoral student Peter Rebholz gives the students a thumbs up. The return howl confirms Rebholz’s hunch that wolves are nearby.

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[Montana] State judge allows 2025-2026 wolf hunting and trapping regulations to stand

From MontanaFreePress.org:

A Helena judge has allowed the wolf hunting and trapping regulations the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted earlier this year to stand, despite flagging “serious concerns” about the state’s ability to accurately estimate Montana’s wolf population.

In a 43-page opinion, district court Judge Christopher Abbott wrote that leaving the 2025-2025 hunting and trapping regulations in place while he considers an underlying lawsuit will not “push wolf populations to an unsustainable level.”

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Why Finland’s reindeer are dying by the thousands

From CNN.com:

Russia’s war in Ukraine is having far-reaching and potentially unexpected consequences. In Finland, reindeer herders and scientists suspect wolves are crossing from Russia and killing their herds – because the Russian men who would normally hunt them are in Ukraine.

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The Scientific Lie [Alpha Concept] That Damaged Generations of Men

From PBS.org:

“There’s a really powerful and sometimes dangerous idea that’s taken root in pop culture: the idea of the ‘alpha male’.  For decades, the idea of the all-powerful alpha male has dominated media. We’ve been told that in animals, and in human society, the toughest, the most aggressive top dog gets the power, the resources, the mates.

The alpha male is an idea that was born in real studies of animal behavior and biology in the lives and conflicts of social animals. Few scientific concepts have been so thoroughly absorbed by popular culture, but this idea has been so hugely misinterpreted and disconnected from what the science actually says.”

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[Wyoming] Wolf captor wants judge to toss case as Congress mulls ban on striking wildlife with snowmobiles

From WyoFile.com:

Cody Roberts, the man who brought an injured wolf into a bar and posed for photos with the muzzled animal, should have his felony animal cruelty charges dismissed instead of having to stand trial, his attorney argued in new court documents.

Robert’s legal counsel, Robert Piper, made that request Friday while filing an amended motion to dismiss the indictment against his client. The seven-page legal document makes the case that Wyoming carved out an exemption in its animal cruelty laws for animals classified as predators, such as wolves.

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Wolf Attacks Threaten Reindeer Herds in Finland’s Lapland

From Mexha.net:

In Kuusamo, a town in northern Finland, concerns are growing about threats to herds of reindeer kept by herders and supporting Lapland’s tourism sector during the Christmas season. In recent years, the number of wolf attacks on the herds has risen, affecting the survival of local families and the region’s economy.

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Wisconsin Conservation Congress group passes hound/wolf resolution

From OutdoorNews.com:

Milladore, Wis. — The possibility of using trailing hounds to move wolves away from farms and other problem areas in Wisconsin cleared its first hurdle when the Conservation Congress wolf study committee passed Corky Meyer’s resolution with just one dissenting vote. Meyer, who passed away earlier this year, had been a strong conservation advocate for decades.

Meyer, a hound hunter, had been working on a citizen resolution to allow the use of trained hounds to target specific wolf control situations when he passed away. Meyer’s resolution, presented by his daughter, Tashina Peplinski, was the only citizen resolution before the committee during its meeting at the George W. Mead State Wildlife Area.

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[Wisconsin] WCA Applauds House Passage of Gray Wolf Delisting Legislation

From MorningAgClips.com:

VERONA, Wis. — The Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association (WCA) is grateful for today’s  bipartisan passage of the Pet and Livestock Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.

This legislation introduced by Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) restores  the 2020 rule delisting gray wolves in the lower 48 states and prevents future judicial overturns. The move marks a significant step forward for Wisconsin’s cattle producers and rural  communities who have faced increasing livestock losses, emotional stress and financial strain  from growing wolf populations.

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Where does Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s revenue come from?

From SteamboatPilot.com:

As Colorado legislators commenced the annual budgeting process this winter, their first review of the state’s Department of Natural Resources budget for the upcoming fiscal year was dominated by wolves.  However, the state’s gray wolf reintroduction program is a unique line item for Colorado Parks and Wildlife — the enterprise agency that falls under the Department of Natural Resources.

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Illegal poultry carcass storage linked to rising wolf–human conflicts, [Polish] study finds

From ScienceInPoland.pl:

Illegally stored poultry carcasses on or near farms attract wolves and increase the risk of conflicts between predators and humans, according to a new study by Polish scientists, who are calling for urgent inspections of factory farming operations.

Researchers from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw, in collaboration with experts from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Gdańsk, the Mysikrólik Foundation and Vet-House, found that improper disposal and storage of dead farm animals significantly affects the behaviour of large predators and draws them into human settlements.

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