‘I knew they were going to cause us trouble:’ Idaho rancher shares struggle with wolves ahead of Sierra Club Coexistence Works discussion

From PostIndependent.com:

Glenn Elzinga, CEO and co-founder of Alderspring Ranch, knew life as a cattle rancher was going to change when he heard about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to reintroduce gray wolves to central Idaho in 1995.

The reintroduction effort in Idaho was part of a 1987 federal recovery plan for wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains. At the time, gray wolves were protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

“A lot of ranchers said, well, you’re shoving this down our throats, but it’s a law. It’s federal law,” That’s why we got wolves,” Elzinga said. “I wasn’t a supporter of it all because I knew they were going to cause us trouble.”

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Wolf Pack Attempts Hunt 5 Times in Hours

From MontanaOutdoor.com:

According to an Instagram post via strategist.to.naturalist, a newly formed wolf pack that’s been dominating the National Elk Refuge crossed into Grand Teton National Park a few days ago and went all out with five bold attempts to take down bull elk—but came up empty every time. One tough elk even managed to fend them off two separate times with kicks and antler jabs, proving it wasn’t giving up without a fight!

Interesting to capture five separate hunts in one day, and this was posted on January 23, 2025. So much for wolves going after the weak.

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Tireless detection dog helps solve mystery in the Alaskan wilderness: ‘This is probably his last big project’

From TheCoolDown.com:

Meet Barley, who gets to spend all of his time doing what dogs love most: playing outdoors and sniffing poop.

That’s because he’s the first four-legged team member of K9 Conservationists, a company that takes dogs from shelters and trains them to engage in data-gathering for a wide range of scientific work. He’s been roaming Prince of Wales Island finding wolf scat for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This helps the department track population and maintain healthy hunting quotas. Considering how precarious and targeted wolf populations are, it’s great to see them getting support and protection.

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Bills targeting predator torture, snowmobile hunting could make infamous wolf stunt a felony

From WyomingNewsNow.tv:

Cheyenne, Wyo. – Sophomore representative Andrew Byron’s appointment to chair the House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee was a real honor. The new authority also came with a readymade controversy.

In taking the helm at the outset of the session, Byron inherited a controversial bill set in motion by a Wyoming man’s decision to strike an adolescent wolf with a snowmobile, muzzle and collar it, then parade the badly wounded animal through a Sublette County bar for hours. Global outrage ensued and hadn’t abated last fall, when the previous configuration of the Travel, Recreation and Wildlife Committee signed off on a bill that explicitly sanctioned the practice of recreationally running over wildlife with snowmobiles but stiffened penalties for keeping struck, wounded animals alive.

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White-Tailed Deer: Their Effects on Michigan

From The Echo:

The population of white-tailed deer in the Southern Peninsula of Michigan has been fluctuating for years. After nearly going extinct in the late 1800s due to excessive hunting, the white-tailed deer population has now exponentially grown to 2 million in 1989. Growing by 1.5 million in less than 20 years, according to the Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) “White-Tailed Deer: Species Management” publication.

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CT’s Beardsley Zoo Welcomes Critically Endangered Wolf & Barn Owl

From News.Hamlethub.com:

Bridgeport, CT – Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo (CBZ) is excited to welcome Ranger, a male American Red Wolf, to our animal family. Ranger joins us from the National Zoo as part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a vital program dedicated to protecting and preserving critically endangered species like the American Red Wolf.

Ranger is two and half years old and joins Taylor, our resident female red wolf. Although Taylor is no longer part of the breeding population, Ranger’s presence ensures she has a companion while continuing her vital role in inspiring guests to care about wildlife conservation.

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Chewed over 25 years, wolf center upgrades are finally approved [Lewisboro, New York]

From Newsbreak.com:

It took a quarter of a century to achieve but major changes to the Wolf Conservation Center have finally been approved by the Lewisboro Planning Board. The board voted unanimously Jan. 21 to approve changes at the private nature preserve, located at 7 Buck Run, South Salem.

The WCC received site development plan approval, special use permit approval, wetland activity permit approval and stormwater permit approval.

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19 Books About Wolves

From The Revelator.org:

These howling good books examine how we’ve persecuted wolves, how we’ve helped to restore them, and how they embody humanity’s relationship with nature.

Wolves are one of the defining wildlife species of the 21st century — if not every century — of human existence. Relentlessly persecuted, uniquely inspirational, and endlessly adaptive, wolves embody our relationship with nature: We love it, we fear it; we worship it, we denigrate it; we depend on it; we destroy it.

It’s no wonder so many authors in recent years have turned to wolves to examine the biggest issues of the day.

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Colorado Wolf Map Shows Animals Traveling Further Than Ever Before

From Newsweek.com:

A female gray wolf traveled in watersheds—alongside natural water sources such as rivers and streams—in Chaffee, Park and Fremont counties in January, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s monthly tracking map, released on Wednesday.

This is further southeast than any of the state’s collared wolves have ventured, The Denver Post reported. All other wolves seemingly remained in and around Summit, Grand, Jackson, Routt and Garfield counties.

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Anderson: Wolves more likely to be delisted under Trump, but whether deer numbers increase is uncertain

From The Minnesota Star Tribune:

President Donald Trump didn’t mention wolves in his inauguration speech on Monday. But that doesn’t mean change isn’t coming in the way these apex predators are managed.

With the help of the Republican-controlled Congress, such a change is possible, if not probable. Whether deer numbers in northern Minnesota increase as a result, addressing the frustrations of whitetail hunters in that part of the state, is another question.

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