Latest Tactic To Keep Wolves Away From Livestock: Dive-Bomb Them With Drones

From CowboySateDaily:

Dive-bombing wolves with drones has scared wolves away from cattle in Oregon, and a wolf conservation advocate says she wants to try the same thing in Wyoming and Colorado.  “At first, if you’re just flying over, the wolf is curious. Like, ‘Is that a bird? What’s a bird doing up there?’” Kim Bean told Cowboy State Daily.

“The minute that loudspeaker goes off, it’s amazing how quickly that animal spins and goes,” added Bean, the founder and president of Wolf and Wildlife Advocates.

Click here for the full story.

Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.

From AtlasObsura.com:

The wolves trot out of the morning fog and settle around a bison herd that had overnighted in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park. There are a couple hundred bison and only four wolves, but the herd immediately becomes agitated—they begin to move around, and the wolves follow.

A human family of four, we watch them from a hill across the valley, sometimes through the scopes that our guide, Audra Conklin Taylor, has brought along, sometimes just squinting in the morning sun. “The adult bison are too big for them so they’re after the calves,” she explains.

Click here for the full story.

Artificial Intelligence Could Help Unlock the Secrets of Yellowstone Wolf Populations

From DiscoverMagazine.com:

A wolf’s howl is one of those unforgettable sounds of nature. Now, this iconic sound is setting a new chapter for wolf conservation, fitting hand-in-hand with monitoring technology.

To make sense of what wolf howls mean for an ecosystem, The Colossal Foundation (the non-profit arm of Colossal Biosciences, which recently made headlines for its dire wolf de-extinction project) has announced a partnership with non-profit Yellowstone Forever and the Yellowstone Wolf Project. The collaboration aims to strengthen wolf conservation efforts, using cameras to monitor acoustic (audio) data and AI algorithms to classify howls.

Click here for the full story.

What kind of vet care should [Colorado] ranchers be compensated for after wolf-livestock conflict?

From PostIndependent.com:

A North Park rancher’s request for reimbursement following wolf-related livestock losses spurred Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Commission to take another look at how the state is compensating producers for veterinarian care.

On Thursday, May 8, the commission unanimously voted to consider changes to its rules around wolf-related compensation and vet care. The board initiated a rulemaking, which means after Parks and Wildlife staff review the changes requested, the matter will come back before the commission for a public hearing. The commission set no deadline for the rulemaking, but the state agency is required to alert the public before the hearing is held.

Click here for the full story.

Greek prosecutor orders removal of wolves from national park, sparking scientific backlash

From Ekathimerini.com:

A Greek prosecutor has ordered the removal of wolves from Mount Parnitha National Park near Athens and their relocation to northern Greece – a decision that has shocked scientists and conservationists, who warn it is both ecologically damaging and logistically unworkable.

The directive, issued about ten days ago by the prosecutor for animal protection, instructs the Parnitha forestry service to capture the wolves and transport them to another region. Authorities, caught off guard, are now scrambling to determine how to carry out the order.

Click here for the full story.

Zoo Knoxville welcomes litter of endangered red wolf pups

From WATE.com:

Zoo Knoxville is now home to six newborn pups belonging to the species known as the most endangered wolf in the world after the litter was born on Earth Day. Zoo Knoxville announced the April 22 birth of the litter of red wolf pups on Thursday, sharing that they were born to parents Buckeye and Cirilla.

Zoo staff closely monitored the cubs during their first week to make sure they were developing properly and gaining weight. Now, keepers have taken a more hands-off approach to allow the wolves to display natural behaviors and parent on their own.

Click here for the full story.

Wolf Protection Downgrade Gets Green Light In EU

From Barrons.com:

EU lawmakers on Thursday gave the green light to downgrading wolf protections in the bloc, which will allow hunting to resume under strict criteria.

Members of the Bern Convention, tasked with the protection of wildlife in Europe as well as some African countries, agreed in December to lower the wolf’s status from “strictly protected” to “protected”.

The downgrade came into force in March, and the European Commission moved immediately to revise related EU laws to reflect the change.

Click here for the full story.

 

Hunting wolves is about to become more common in Europe – here’s why

From Independent.Co.UK:

Wolf hunting is set to become easier across the EU as the European Parliament votes to loosen restrictions on the practice across its member nations.

This move downgrades the animal’s protection status, reflecting a similar change under the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. EU member states had already approved the measure last month.

The change lowers wolves’ status in EU law from “strictly protected” to “protected.” While this allows EU countries to permit wolf hunting, they remain obligated to prevent the species from becoming endangered. This could involve measures such as limiting hunting seasons.

Click here for the full story.

[Colorado Parks and Wildlife] Commissioners approve another wolf depredation claim while tabling another

From Denver7.com:

The wolf discussion at Wednesday’s Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting lasted several hours, ranging from approving and tabling two depredation claims to the latest map showing wolves in the Ralston Creek watershed.

The CPW Commission met in Durango on Wednesday for the first day of its two-day gathering to discuss a myriad of topics, including the latest on wolves. They initially touched on a wolf claim that they decided to approve, and later had a lengthy discussion regarding a claim that they ultimately, with the rancher’s agreement, tabled for another time.

Click here for the full story.

 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife tracking up to four possible wolf dens

From PostIndependent.com:

For wolves, the beginning of May signals the end of denning season.

While Colorado Parks and Wildlife is tracking up to four pairs of wolves that could be denning, none have been confirmed, according to Eric Odell, the agency’s wolf conservation program manager.

“We are monitoring one to three to four pairs of animals that could be denning,” Odell said at the May 7 meeting for the agency’s commission.

Click here for the full story.