Mutant Chernobyl wolves evolve anti-cancer abilities 35 years after nuclear disaster

From News Wise:

Beyond hard workers and aides, the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) can also help us learn about cancer. It turns out that man’s best friend falls ill and fights off cancer more similarly to humans than the common laboratory mouse. Surprisingly, this makes studying their wilder cousins, the gray wolf (Canis lupus), an excellent choice to understand how we might treat cancer one day. Esoteric and challenging, scientists can’t just go out and survey the neighborhood wolf pack for answers. Instead, they have to go where wolves and cancer are sure to collide.

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Fred Allendorf: Chronic Wasting Disease: Can wolves help?

From Missoulian:

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a 100% fatal disease that affects elk, moose, mule deer, and white-tailed deer in Montana. Affected animals lose weight, and they exhibit listlessness, tremors, and repetitive walking in set patterns. However, CWD is slow acting, and there are few symptoms during the first year or more after infection. The effects of CWD do not become apparent until the last 4-9 months of infection.

 

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Wolf reintroduction in Colorado worries some residents

From Boise State Public Radio:

Wolves now have a larger territory in our region. Colorado has started releasing wolves along the western slope – part of a voter-approved reintroduction plan. But some area residents are worried about the impact.

 

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Zoo Knoxville welcomes new red wolf, first unrelated female wolf in the zoo’s pack

From NBC10 News:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Zoo Knoxville is welcoming a new member to its red wolf pack — a new female red wolf who arrived from North Carolina. According to Terry Cannon, a curator of mammals and carnivals at the zoo, the new wolf will be the first unrelated female wolf introduced to the zoo in several years.

“Now, we’ve brought in this new bloodline — female. She’s 2 years old, she came from North Carolina. North Carolina State University, actually was holding her and taking care of her, but now she’s been asked to be moved here for future breeding recommendation with one of our males,” he said. “Red wolves are very important. They are officially known as ‘America’s wolf.'”

 

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Forest Service addresses wolves as it plans for Castle, Windy Fire restoration

From Bakersfield.com:

Officials with Sequoia National Forest expect to continue this spring with projects intended to protect giant sequoia groves from stand-replacing fires.

The U.S. Forest Service released decision notices Thursday for both the Castle Fire Ecological Restoration Project and the Windy Fire Restoration Project.

 

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Confirmed wolf depredation near Keating Valley, Union County

From Elkhorn Media Group:

UNION COUNTY – ODFW have confirmed another wolf depredation in Union County. The incident was initially investigated on December 27, 2023. The incident occurred along the Powder River north of the Keating Valley on Private Land and resulted in the injury of a single cow, which later had to be euthanized.

 

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Five more wolves to call Colorado home

From The Mountain Mail:

Colorado Parks and Wildlife introduced another five wolves Dec. 19 as part of the voter-approved wolf reintroduction program.

A CPW press release said the wolves were released in Summit and Grand counties, bringing the total number of wolves released to 10.

There will be another five released by March, although the exact time and location is uncertain. “Ultimately, CPW plans to recover and maintain a viable, self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado while balancing the need to manage interactions between wolves, people and livestock,” the press release stated.

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Rogue wolf’s capture highlights divide in wildlife managment

From Silver City Press Daily:

The Mexican gray wolf named Asha roamed for months around New Mexico and parts of Arizona.
She’s now in captivity with two male wolves at the Sevilleta Wolf Management Facility in La Joya, N.M., where U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials want her to mate.

Her journey and capture is showing division between federal wildlife managers who want to ensure Asha stays safe from poachers — or people protecting livestock — and conservationists who insist a free roaming Asha is best restoring the Mexican gray wolf population.

A federal judge could ultimately settle the matter.

 

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HOW THE BEAVER-WOLF DYNAMIC MODIFIES FORESTS

From Geography Realm:

A four-minute mini documentary called “How Wolves Change Rivers” was probably the first ecology-related video that went completely viral. With over 44 million views, the short video emphasized the role of the wolf as a top predator with an immense effect on their environment, triggering the trophic cascade of Yellowstone National Park.

 

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Ranchers Prepared to Immediately Shoot Wolves If They Cross State Line

From Newsweek:

Ranchers in one state are prepared to shoot gray wolves on site if they cross the state line.

On December 18, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) released five gray wolves in Grand County, Colorado, as part of its Final Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan, which proposed reintroducing and managing gray wolves in the state no later than December 31. Several days later, CPW released five more wolves, meaning that 10 now roam throughout the state.

 

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