Northern New Mexico may be sandwiched between two ongoing wolf reintroduction programs, and while Taos County residents probably won’t hear these animals howling any time soon, scientists have found the region would provide a suitable habitat for Mexican gray wolves and support connectivity to other wolf populations.
Meanwhile, howling among ranchers, government agencies and environmental groups who supported the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program in southwest New Mexico and eastern Arizona — where wolves have come into conflict with cattle — might be a little quieter in Taos County, if comments made at a Taos Soil and Water Conservation meeting last month are any indication.
Wolf research braids GPS, helicopters with Indigenous knowledge systems
From CBC.ca in Canada:
A study on eastern wolves near Georgian Bay is taking a unique approach by braiding western scientific techniques together with Indigenous knowledge systems.
Wiikwemkoong’s species at risk co-ordinator Theodore Flamand said he’s been hoping to organize a project like this for four years. He’s partnered with nearby communities, researcher Jesse Popp, who has roots in Wiikwemkoong, and the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry (MNDMRNF).
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US program resulted in thousands of animal deaths last year
From chron.com in Houston, Texas:
More than 1.75 million animals were killed across the country by the department in 2021, about 200 creatures every hour, according to the latest annual toll of animals killed by Wildlife Services, a department within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Wildlife Services says it “provides wildlife damage management assistance to protect agriculture, natural resources, property and health and safety” through the implementation of “integrated wildlife damage management programs.” The department says the killing and euthanizing of animals is necessary to protect agricultural output, threatened species and human health.
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From shandong to stupa: the story of conservation of wolves in Ladakh
From Mongabay in India:
About four decades ago, one winter morning, a 10-12-year-old boy was accompanying his father on horseback on the rugged terrains of Ladakh. They had set off from their hamlet Rumste, part of the larger Gya village, around 75-80 km from Leh town. Their journey to collect manure from dogpas (nomadic herders in Ladakh), which they would later use in their fields, however, was cut short when they heard a commotion. They discovered many people had gathered near a shandong (traditional wolf traps in Ladakh) where a shanku (Ladakhi name for wolf) had been trapped. As per the local custom, the wolf was being stoned to death by the village residents. The boy, along with his father, also joined others in stoning the predator, which was soon crushed under the barrage of rocks thrown at it.
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The latest line of defense against wolves on this Colorado ranch? Guard donkeys
From Colorado Public Radio:
A Colorado rancher has brought in reinforcements to help him protect his livestock from wolves.
Don Gittleson now has seven donkeys at his mountain ranch near Walden, Colo., close to the Wyoming border. On a recent morning, three of the donkeys watched with intense focus as Gittleson entered a cattle pen, their ears snapping forward to track the sound of his steps.
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New Mexico: Taos County could become a meeting place for two species of gray wolf
From the Taos News:
Northern New Mexico may be sandwiched between two ongoing wolf reintroduction programs, and while Taos County residents probably won’t hear these animals howling any time soon, scientists have found the region would provide a suitable habitat for Mexican gray wolves and support connectivity to other wolf populations.
Meanwhile, howling among ranchers, government agencies and environmental groups who supported the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program in southwest New Mexico and eastern Arizona — where wolves have come into conflict with cattle — might be a little quieter in Taos County, if comments made at a Taos Soil and Water Conservation meeting last month are any indication.
Click here for the full story.
Wolf-killing group makes a play for Wyoming
From WyoFile.com:
PINEDALE — Justin Webb wanted to hear what the seven trappers in the back row made of his pitch.
The Idaho panhandle resident had traveled all the way to Sublette County to promote his organization, the Foundation for Wildlife Management, a 501c3 nonprofit that makes payments to trappers who kill wolves. But two hours in, the stone-faced men had hardly said a word. Webb, the group’s executive director and an avid trapper himself, tried to ease the outdoorsmen gathered in the library conference room into saying something.
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Oregon: A federal judge has redrawn the map for managing wolves in the West, and Grant County is at ground zero
From the Blue Mountain Eagle in Oregon:
A judge’s decision to restore federal protections for gray wolves last month has put Grant County at ground zero for relisting the predators under the Endangered Species Act.
The decision drew a dividing line between wolf populations that can continue to be managed by state agencies and those that will once again be governed by more restrictive federal rules.
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What’s behind a bill to delist gray wolves from federal protection
From Wisconsin Public Radio:
Wisconsin senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin have introduced a bill to remove federal protections for gray wolves. We talk with a wildlife biologist and current Chair of the Timber Wolf Alliance Advisory Council to talk about what a return to state control would mean for wolves in Wisconsin.
Click here to listen to the broadcast.
Terrified bloke spots ‘well-built wolf with long snout’ whilst walking in British woods
From the Daily Star in the UK:
A bloke couldn’t believe his eyes after he spotted a wild wolf roaming around woods in Gloucestershire.
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife donates wild burros to protect cattle from wolves
From OutThereColorado.com:
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) donated six wild burros to a Jackson County rancher who has recently been the victim of several wolf depredation incidents. The department hopes the burros will protect the livestock, according to a news release.
The rancher, Don Gittleson, has experienced three incidents since December. The wolf population in Colorado was eradicated in the 1940s, with a functional population of the species absent from the state for decades. However, in 2020, a small pack with two adults naturally migrated to the area from a bordering state. It is believed that members from this pack are the animals that targeted Gittleson’s livestock.
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