From the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota:
NEAR ORR, MINN. — They say good fences make good neighbors, and Wes Johnson is hoping more than 7 miles of good fence around his cattle ranch here will finally make good neighbors out of the booming local wolf population.
For the past 20 years or so, this is where wolves have been coming to die, more than any place else in Minnesota. They came to eat first, preying on some of Johnson’s newborn calves each spring. But then federal trappers came and killed the wolves — as many as 16 in a single year, three already this year, and 86 wolves trapped and killed in this wild patch of northwestern St. Louis County since 2002.
Click here for the full story.
Michigan: Donkeys are livestock guardians in up north battle with gray wolves
From MLive.com in Michigan:
BRUCE CROSSING, MI – What keeps a hungry wolf at bay? Turns out, an angry braying donkey that’s bonded with the other farm animals and doesn’t want to see them dragged away and eaten will do the trick.
In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, some livestock farmers have turned to donkeys for non-lethal means of protecting their herds. The practice has historical precedent in Michigan, but has also gained in popularity worldwide.
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Wolves are making a comeback in Washington
From Axios.com:
Gray wolves are growing more abundant in Washington and seem headed toward recovery — but they’re not out of the woods yet, state wildlife officials say.
By the numbers: Washington’s wolf population grew for the 13th consecutive year in 2021, climbing to 206 wolves in 33 packs, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
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‘People may be overselling the myth’: should we bring back the wolf?
From The Guardian in the UK:
In 1995, in Yellowstone national park, eight wolves were released from a white truck that had travelled 700 miles from Alberta, Canada. They were the first to live in the park for 70 years and the most fabled predator’s return to the world’s most famous national park inspired research that would feature in ecology textbooks for decades.
A key narrative from this event is that wolves created a “landscape of fear” in the park, which kickstarted big changes in habitats, known as trophic cascades. It is an argument used to justify releasing wolves elsewhere. But increasingly, researchers are looking at the nuances of what happened in the decades after wolves were introduced and challenging this approach.
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Love at first bite: Lonely wolf treks across Czech Republic for 14 days to find love in Poland
From TheFirstNews.com:
A lonely wolf walked across the Czech Republic to find love in Poland – and is now thought to have started a family.
The two-year-old set off from Austria after researchers from the Czech nature organization Šelmy.cz and scientists from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna attached a GPS collar around his neck.
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Minnesota’s draft wolf plan update is ready for public review
From the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is updating the state’s wolf management plan and wants your input on its draft plan.
Anyone who has an interest in Minnesota wolves will be invited to give feedback on the state’s wolf management plan. Regardless of your affiliation or interactions with wolves, we want your feedback on the draft.
Click here for the full story.
Wolf management efforts in Idaho focus on more targeted areas
From Boise State Public Radio in Idaho:
The Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board says its new approach to culling wolves is more targeted to areas with high risk to livestock and wildlife.
Last year, Senate Bill 1211 became law in Idaho, allowing hunters and private contractors to kill up to 90% of wolves in the state. It also increased how much the Board can spend on exterminating wolves causing problems to animals like sheep, deer and elk.
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Here’s when wolves are set to be reintroduced into Colorado
From Out There Colorado:
More than a year after Coloradans voted to formally bring the grey wolf back to the state by a narrow margin, many residents are sure to be curious about the status of the wolf reintroduction effort.
While wolves are again present in Colorado (first confirmed in January 2020, prior to the November 2020 vote), the formal reintroduction is still in the planning phase and wolves that are currently present are animals that naturally moved into the state from surrounding areas, later having pups. According to experts, it’s unlikely that current wolf numbers would be sustainable over time, thus the formal reintroduction effort would still be needed to truly bring the species back.
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Luke: Finland’s wolf population growth stalling
From yle.fl in Finland:
The steady growth in Finland’s wolf population over recent years has slowed during the past 12 months, according to a report by the Natural Resources Institute (Luke).
The institute estimated that there were between 279 and 321 wolves in Finland in March 2021, and subsequently revised this figure to 290 for March of this year.
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Colorado wolfpack no longer has working collars, causing concern among officials
From The Coloradoan:
Colorado’s closely watched North Park wolfpack no longer has a working radio collar among its members, causing growing concern among ranchers, some wolf experts and the state wildlife agency.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed to the Coloradoan the remaining working collar among the three fitted on pack members failed May 13. That collar was attached to the breeding adult male of the pack, which last year helped produce the state’s fist pups in 80 years.
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Northern MN fencing effort may help rancher and wolves
From the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota:
NEAR ORR, MINN. — They say good fences make good neighbors, and Wes Johnson is hoping more than 7 miles of good fence around his cattle ranch here will finally make good neighbors out of the booming local wolf population.
For the past 20 years or so, this is where wolves have been coming to die, more than any place else in Minnesota. They came to eat first, preying on some of Johnson’s newborn calves each spring. But then federal trappers came and killed the wolves — as many as 16 in a single year, three already this year, and 86 wolves trapped and killed in this wild patch of northwestern St. Louis County since 2002.
Click here for the full story.