Sweden doles out wolf hunting licenses to manage once-endangered population

From Straight Arrow News:

Sweden’s once-endangered wolf population is making a comeback, stirring debate over how best to manage the species. While conservationists are celebrating the population’s growth, the Swedish government is calling for it to be halved.

On Thursday, Jan. 2, the government issued a license to hunt, allowing hunters to kill up to 30 wolves across five territories to reduce the population, which currently stands at 375. This move aligns with the European Commission’s goal to loosen protections for wolves across the continent.

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Fish and Wildlife offers $10K reward in illegal killing of protected Eastern WA gray wolf

From tri-cityherald.com:

For the second time in less than a month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $10,000 reward for information related to the illegal killing of a gray wolf in the region. The federal service, along with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, are seeking information about the killing of a federally endangered adult male gray wolf in Klickitat County, which neighbors Benton County. They’re offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest, criminal conviction or civil penalty.

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The year of the wolves

From WyoFile.com:

Thirty years ago this month, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. Today, the people who made it happen remember the mayhem and magic of one of the 20th century’s most controversial acts of ecosystem management.

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More Than $65,000 Offered for Information About Illegal Killing of Gray Wolf in Colorado

From Center for Biological Diversity:

GRAND COUNTY, Colo.— The Center for Biological Diversity, conservation partners and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are offering rewards totaling more than $65,000 for information leading to arrests and convictions in the 2024 shooting death of a wolf in Colorado. The reward follows the Service’s announcement today that a necropsy confirmed a gunshot wound killed the father of the Copper Creek pack, who died after he was captured in early September.

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Grand County wolf was shot, say federal authorities who are looking for its killer

From ColoradoSun.com:

A wolf that died after it was captured by wildlife officials as part of a pack had been shot, and now federal authorities are looking for the culprit.

The wolf was one of the original 10 wolves reintroduced to Colorado and the adult male of the Copper Creek pack, which was captured Aug. 30 after repeatedly feeding on livestock in Grand County.

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Colorado ranchers seek $581,000 to cover losses caused by wolves, a tab the state can’t afford

From ColoradoPolitics.com

Colorado ranchers and producers are looking to recover losses they say have been caused by the wolf reintroduction program, submitting nearly $600,000 in claims.

Meeting the year-end deadline, three producers submitted six claims, totaling $582,000. That would more than bankrupt the state’s wolf depredation compensation fund, which received $350,000 in the 2024-25 budget. Over three years, the wolf reintroduction program has cost the state more than $5.1 million.

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Sweden begins wolf hunt as it aims to halve endangered animal’s population

From The Guardian:

Sweden’s wolf hunt starts on Thursday, with the country aiming to halve the population of the endangered predator.

The Swedish government has given the green light for five entire wolf families, a total of 30 wolves, to be killed in a hunt campaigners say is illegal under EU law. Under the Berne convention, protected species cannot be caused to have their populations fall under a sustainable level.

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Gray wolves now call Tulare County home as species pushes south in California

From VisaliaTimesDelta.com:

Gray wolves are alive and well in Tulare County.

The population of gray wolves has increased in the county, state, and country in recent years because of the legal protections of the Endangered Species Act, which reversed a decline that began centuries ago.

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Alaska Trappers Catch One of the Biggest Wolves Ever Recorded

From OutdoorLife.com:

On Dec. 22 I received a message from a local Fairbanks trapper whom I’ve known for years. It included a photo of an enormous black wolf he and his trapping partner had just caught, as well as the scale it was hanging from. It displayed 152 pounds.  “We’re taking it to get it weighed on a certified scale right now,” he wrote. I knew, as well as he did, that this could be one of the largest wolves ever recorded.

Up close with Isegrim at the Wolf Science Center

From SchauVorbei:

At the Wolf Science Center in Ernstbrunn, dogs and wolves are kept and reared under comparable conditions in order to explore the similarities and differences between them. The animals live in spacious enclosures and receive a demanding training and activity program. This makes the wolf research center unique in the world in terms of its scientific orientation.

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