Study highlights crucial role of gray wolves in ecosystem

From Missoula Current:

(CN) — Gray wolves maintain ecosystem balance in the western United States, researchers say in a new study bolstered by a Center for Biological Diversity lawsuit filed earlier in the week calling for increased federal protections.

In a study published Wednesday in BioScience and led by William Ripple from Oregon State University and the Conservation Biology Institute, researchers explored the significant consequences of losing large predators on ecological communities and functions.

 

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The EU Nature Restoration Law: Landmark legislation finally adopted

From IFAW:

More than seven months after the original agreement of the European Parliament, Commission, and Council on the Nature Restoration Law, the Council finally gave the green light and officially adopted the law on 17 June 2024.

The delay was due to persistent resistance from several EU member states in the Council. The missing majority threatened to jeopardise the compromise that was reached by the EU institutions after lengthy trilogue negotiations on 9 November 2023. These negotiations had already resulted in numerous compromises and concessions.

 

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Could successful wolf reintroduction in the US be mirrored in the UK?

From Meteored:

The reintroduction of wolves in North America has received a great deal of attention, particularly the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park in 1995. This has led to speculation about whether wolves, or even lynx would be suitable for reintroduction in the UK.

Despite success in the USA, one solution does not fit all scenarios. It’s possible that predator reintroduction in the UK may help reduce the negative impact of activities such as deer grazing, but there are still challenges to overcome before making it a reality.

 

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Wolves Vanished Across America, And We’re Still Uncovering The Damage

From Science Alert:

The haunting howls of wolves fell mostly silent across America’s West by the 1930s.

Their loss to the region has been largely overlooked by humans, even in our scientific research, a new review finds, but the impact of their absence is written loudly in the missing trees.

 

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Endangered gray wolves have baby after controversial reintroduction to Colorado

From Microsoft Start:

Agray wolf pup is the latest addition to the endangered — but growing — Colorado gray wolf population, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced on June 20.

In December 2023, experts with the state department introduced 10 gray wolves from Oregon to Colorado, where the species had been mostly absent for years. The initiative, backed by voters, was the country’s “most ambitious wolf reintroduction effort” in nearly 30 years, the Associated Press reported.

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Woman attacked by wolves in safari park near Paris

From BBC:

A woman is in intensive care after being attacked by wolves while jogging in an animal park near Paris, French media report.

They say that early on Sunday the 36-year-old victim – who was staying at a lodge within Thoiry park – strayed into the main safari zone, which is reserved for cars.

She was set upon by three arctic wolves and suffered severe bites to her neck, back and a leg.

 

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Culling wolves alters the survivors and that could be ‘bad news’ for caribou, study finds

From CBC:

When wolves are killed by bullets fired from helicopters during Alberta government culls, surviving members of the pack quickly learn to evade the threat, a new study has found.

For nearly two decades, Alberta has killed off hundreds of grey wolves each year in an attempt to bolster dwindling caribou populations, a practice critics have described as a misguided measure to help herds on the brink recover from habitat loss.

New research sheds light on how the practice alters the surviving wolves and warns of unintended consequences on threatened caribou and the broader boreal habitat.

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First wolf kill in Routt County confirmed by officials

From Aspen Times:

A wolf attack on a calf was confirmed in Routt County on Wednesday, marking the first depredation in the county since the voter-approved re-introduction of wolves began in December, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).

The fatal depredation was reported Sunday and then investigated by CPW employees, who completed a necropsy report confirming the wolf depredation.

 

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Endangered Red Wolves in eastern North Carolina fading fast

From Wavy:

DARE COUNTY, N.C. (WAVY) – With the wild Red Wolf population in eastern North Carolina fading fast, experts are discussing ways to bring the species back.

From what biologists know, there are currently only 18 adult Red Wolves remaining — and they say vehicles and guns are to blame for the declining numbers.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Red Wolves were among the first animals to be designated under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 in the year 1967. The wolves are native to North America, with habitats up and down the east coast, and as far west as Texas.

 

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New research illuminates the ecological importance of gray wolves in the American West

From Phys.org:

A study published in the journal BioScience sheds light on the importance of gray wolves in the western United States. Led by William Ripple, a scientist at Oregon State University and the Conservation Biology Institute, the research delves into the implications of large predator absence on plant and animal communities, and ecosystem functions. It calls attention to “shifting baselines” wherein increasingly degraded conditions are viewed as reflecting the historical state of a system.

“By the 1930s,  were largely absent from the American West, including its . Most published  from this region occurred after the extirpation of wolves,” explains Ripple. “This situation underscores the potential impact of shifting baselines on our understanding of plant community succession, animal community dynamics, and .”

 

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