From Science Alert:
Studying the sleep patterns of wolves in comparison to dogs can give us an insight into how evolution and domestication may have affected sleep – and that’s exactly the point of a new study.
The study involved seven hand-raised, socialized wolves, which meant that they could be calmly and safely coaxed into natural sleep by their handlers without any risk of agitating or harming the animals.
Researchers then used non-invasive electrode measurements via an electroencephalogram, or EEG, to track brain activity as each wolf snoozed.
Click here for the full story.
Wildlife advocates say voter intent being ‘lost or undermined’ in wolf reintroduction process
From The Durango Herald:
A group of wildlife advocates is blasting Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s wolf reintroduction process, saying the intent of the voter-approved proposition has been “lost or undermined.”
Since voters in November 2020 approved Proposition 114 directing the state to craft a plan and reintroduce wolves on the Western Slope by the end of 2023, CPW has hosted a series of statewide meetings and organized two groups to create a management plan.
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Group loses court battle to end aerial shooting in BC’s “war on wolves”
From DH News:
“The war on wolves continues.”
That’s what the conservation group Pacific Wild says after the Supreme Court of British Columbia denied its application to end the wolf cull.
The BC government began the cull in 2015 to save endangered woodland caribou, and has seen at least 1,400 wolves killed through the aerial wolf reduction program since then, according to FOI documents obtained by Pacific Wild.
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Conservation groups offer alternate plan for Colorado wolf reintroduction that limits killing after livestock losses
From the Colorado Sun:
A group of wildlife advocates is blasting Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s wolf reintroduction process, saying the intent of the voter-approved proposition has been “lost or undermined.”
Since voters in November 2020 approved Proposition 114 directing the state to craft a plan and reintroduce wolves on the Western Slope by the end of 2023, CPW has hosted a series of statewide meetings and organized two groups to create a management plan.
Click here for the full story.
Scientists Find That Wolves’ And Dogs’ Sleep States Don’t Quite Match Up
From Science Alert:
Studying the sleep patterns of wolves in comparison to dogs can give us an insight into how evolution and domestication may have affected sleep – and that’s exactly the point of a new study.
The study involved seven hand-raised, socialized wolves, which meant that they could be calmly and safely coaxed into natural sleep by their handlers without any risk of agitating or harming the animals.
Researchers then used non-invasive electrode measurements via an electroencephalogram, or EEG, to track brain activity as each wolf snoozed.
Click here for the full story.
Rule for managing endangered Mexican wolves spurs lawsuit
From the Arizona Daily Sun and the Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — U.S. wildlife managers are being sued over their new management rule for the endangered Mexican gray wolf, with a coalition of environmentalists saying the recently adopted court-ordered changes fail to address genetic concerns and limit the predators from roaming bigger swaths of the American Southwest.
The rule, released before a July 1 deadline, was the result of another years-long legal battle over the predators. Among other things, it outlines when and how wolves can be removed from the wild or released from captivity.
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Montana man kills two wolves in his barn
From the Bonner County Daily Bee in Montana:
TROY, Mont. — There are two fewer wolves on the prowl in Lincoln County, after a man shot two wolves attacking his goats.
A man who lives west of Troy just off U.S. 2 on the Kootenai River shot and killed a pair of wolves Sunday, July 10 morning that attacked his domestic goats.
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Note: This story includes graphic images of the deceased wolves.
Genetic diversity ignored in federal plan to save lobo, lawsuit says
From Carlsbad Current Argus:
A lawsuit filed in federal court challenged a recent plan to recover the Mexican gray wolf, known as the lobo in New Mexico, as inadequate to protect the species and prevent its extinction.
Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a revised recovery plan for the wolf – listed as federally endangered since 1976 – removing a population cap of about 320 wolves living in their experimental habitat area covering parts of southern New Mexico and Arizona.
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Swiss canton gives green light to shoot wolves attacking cows
From Reuters:
ZURICH, July 15 (Reuters) – The eastern Swiss canton of the Grisons gave the green light on Friday to shoot two young wolves whose pack has begun attacking cows in addition to traditional prey of sheep and goats.
The move highlights a national debate over how to handle the more than 100 wolves in Switzerland whose protected status is a thorn in the side of farmers keen to protect their flocks from the predators.
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A litter of critically endangered red wolf pups surprises scientists
From MPR News:
There are about 250 endangered red wolves in the U.S. Recently, a litter of four was born in captivity — an unexpected, but welcome surprise since the male was thought too old to breed.
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Rare wolf attack on baby foxes found on Isle Royale
From the Spartan Newsroom at Michigan State University:
LANSING – For the first time, scientists have documented an adult wolf killing red fox kits in their den.
The event occurred in Isle Royale National Park, where researchers found evidence that an adult male wolf known as 016M attacked the kits, killing and possibly feeding on at least two of them – and possibly also killing a third littermate.
Click here for the full story.