From the Wildlife Society:
When wolves prey on beavers in and around Voyageurs National Park, cascading effects ripple throughout the whole ecosystem.
Researchers have been documenting wolves going after the aquatic rodents, but they didn’t know much about some of the dynamics—factors that could have implications for the environment, since beavers are ecosystem engineers.
“We’ve been really trying to understand beaver interactions on a more broad scale,” said Thomas Gable, project lead of the Voyageurs Wolf Project. “And then, how do those interactions influence larger ecological processes?”
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A lawsuit says wolf traps are endangering grizzly bears
From Boise State Public Radio:
Conservation groups are trying to stop wolf trapping in Idaho, saying the practice threatens endangered grizzly bears.
Thirteen groups filed a lawsuit saying traps and snares for wolves could also kill grizzlies and they asked a federal judge last week to stop the practice when bears are not hibernating.
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Wildlife Researcher Captures Confrontation Between Two Wolf Packs in Yellowstone
From Outdoors:
Wolf packs are an essential part of the species of gray wolves. The animal’s population has steadily increased over recent years with efforts to protect the endangered species. One place that has seen conservation efforts pay off is Yellowstone National Park. More than 100 wolves now call the park home.
WOLF PREDATION ON BEAVERS CAN ALTERS ECOSYSTEMS
From the Wildlife Society:
When wolves prey on beavers in and around Voyageurs National Park, cascading effects ripple throughout the whole ecosystem.
Researchers have been documenting wolves going after the aquatic rodents, but they didn’t know much about some of the dynamics—factors that could have implications for the environment, since beavers are ecosystem engineers.
“We’ve been really trying to understand beaver interactions on a more broad scale,” said Thomas Gable, project lead of the Voyageurs Wolf Project. “And then, how do those interactions influence larger ecological processes?”
Click here for the full story.
Washington state bill would allow targeted wolf response on livestock losses
From Ag Daily:
Washington lawmakers have introduced a new bill allowing ranchers to shoot the first wolf that comes back to feed on killed livestock.
Senate Bill 5939 is co-sponsored by Republican state Sen. Keith Wagoner and Democratic state Sen. Kevin Van De Wege. The legislation allows for a three-year pilot initiative wherein individuals associated with the livestock, such as the owner, immediate family members, or specified employees, can monitor a site where a wolf has attacked the livestock.
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Wolves through the ages: A journey of coexistence, conflict, and conservation
From East Mojo:
Wolves, with their widespread distribution from North America to Eurasia, are ecologically vital as keystone species, playing a critical role in maintaining the health and balance of ecosystems by regulating prey populations. Their influence extends to increasing biodiversity and reshaping landscapes, thus fostering more robust and diverse natural environments.
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Wolves don’t need wilderness,’ says Wolf Switzerland director
From Swiss Info:
The preventive culling of wolves has sparked considerable discussion in Switzerland in recent weeks. Swiss public television SRF asked the managing director of the Wolf Switzerland Group, David Gerke what he thought about the issue.
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January’s full moon is known as the wolf moon. Do wolves really howl at a full moon?
From KLCC:
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The first full moon of the year comes later this month, and it has got a name.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
January is the time of the wolf moon. The “Old Farmer’s Almanac” says it got the nickname because wolves were likely to be heard howling in midwinter.
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Oregon wolves expected to spread
From the Nugget:
State biologists say Oregon’s gray wolf population may have reached its ecological limit in the eastern third of the state and that packs will probably spread out to the west and south in greater numbers.
Those comments, made at a meeting of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, came as Colorado released five wolves trapped from Oregon as part of a historic reintroduction program.
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Breaking Nature’s Stereotypes: Researchers Observe Wolves Hunting Sea Otters and Seals
From Sci Tech Daily:
Firsthand accounts of wolves hunting and successfully capturing a harbor seal, and another instance of a wolf pack preying on and consuming a sea otter along the coast of Katmai, Alaska, have prompted researchers to reconsider assumptions about wolf hunting behavior.
Wolves have previously been observed consuming sea otter carcasses, but how they obtain these and the frequency of scavenging versus hunting marine prey is largely unknown. Scientists at Oregon State University, the National Park Service, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game are beginning to change that with a paper recently published in the journal Ecology.
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Wolf crackdown in Switzerland: a sign of what’s to come in Europe?
From Swiss Info:
The Swiss government’s plan for a preventative cull of wolves has been partially put on ice after a legal appeal. But Bern’s approach could yet be a sign of what’s to come elsewhere in Europe.
Click here for the full story.