From KUER 90.1:
If any of the wolves released on Colorado’s Western Slope ever make it to the sprawling hills near the Stanko ranch in northwest Colorado, the family hopes the predators won’t want to go near Samson. The 11-week old Turkish Boz Shepherd didn’t look menacing on a cold day last month when he playfully pawed at a bone his sibling was chewing near the livestock pens. But each week, Samson is putting on pounds, developing a deeper bark and bonding with the dozens of pigs, cows and hens he’s being raised to protect from the new wolf packs.
He’s also spending more time just staring out into the hills surrounding this ranch, which is home to more than a hundred bird species and a cattle operation the Stanko family has run for more than a century.
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Wolves have landed in Colorado, bringing joy, anxiety and uncertainty to the Western Slope
From KUER 90.1:
If any of the wolves released on Colorado’s Western Slope ever make it to the sprawling hills near the Stanko ranch in northwest Colorado, the family hopes the predators won’t want to go near Samson. The 11-week old Turkish Boz Shepherd didn’t look menacing on a cold day last month when he playfully pawed at a bone his sibling was chewing near the livestock pens. But each week, Samson is putting on pounds, developing a deeper bark and bonding with the dozens of pigs, cows and hens he’s being raised to protect from the new wolf packs.
He’s also spending more time just staring out into the hills surrounding this ranch, which is home to more than a hundred bird species and a cattle operation the Stanko family has run for more than a century.
Click here for the full story.
Rare Mexican Wolf Makes Surprise Visit To Valles Caldera
From Daily Post:
JEMEZ SPRINGS – On the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) is excited to mark this important milestone by celebrating a brief visit from an endangered Mexican wolf. The last documented Mexican wolf sighting in Valles Caldera was in 1932.
The female wolf, identified as F2754 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and known informally as “Asha”, traveled north across the State of New Mexico from the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area to the Jemez Mountains. Asha reached Valles Caldera on Nov. 11, 2023.
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LBL’s four red wolf pups each get new homes
From West Kentucky Star:
Officials with the Woodlands Nature Station announced that over the past week, all four of their now 18-month-old American Red Wolves have been transferred from Land Between the Lakes to other Red Wolf breeding facilities.
At the recommendation of the Red Wolf SAFE program, the Woodlands Nature Station transferred Trace, Piney, Ginger, and Sugar to new facilities.
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife successfully completes gray wolf capture work in Oregon
From Valley Courier:
COLORADO — Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) experts on Dec. 22 completed capture work in Oregon, finishing their work in the state. As a result of the CPW team’s work in Oregon, the agency released a total of 10 gray wolves onto state-owned public land in Summit and Grand counties, continuing the agency’s efforts to create a permanent, self-sustaining gray wolf population in Colorado.
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‘America’s wolf’ among those rescued by Endangered Species Act: ‘Absolutely worth protecting’
From ABC7 News:
Of the many animals protected by the Endangered Species Act, there may be no other species more American than red wolf.
Known as “America’s wolf,” red wolves are the only species of wolf that live in the United States and nowhere else on Earth. These uniquely American mammals are featured in National Geographic Kids’ January edition.
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Gov. Polis Releases Wolves in Covert Ceremony
From Drovers:
One might think Colorado Governor Jared Polis would scale back his anti-agriculture campaign – at least publicly – after his tone-deaf proclamation of Meat-Out Day on the first day of spring in 2021. But despite that PR fiasco, the governor has again thumbed his nose at Colorado ranchers with last week’s covert wolf reintroduction.
Colorado voters approved the reintroduction of gray wolves via a ballot measure in 2020, so the release of five wolves on Dec. 18 into the wilderness of Grand County was legal. But if it was legal, why was it done secretly? And that’s not the only question Colorado ranchers are demanding the governor answer.
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COLLEGE OF FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION YELLOWSTONE PROJECT: UM STUDENT TAKES 3D ODYSSEY THROUGH THE WOLF SKULL ARCHIVES
From University of Montana:
MISSOULA – If not for its small size, distinguishing between the 3D-printed replica of Wolf 302M’s skull and the actual animal it imitates would be nearly impossible.
The near-perfect printed artifact is part of a passion project spearheaded by Maddy Jackson, a wildlife biology graduate student at the University of Montana, who is casting new light on the treasures hidden within a special wolf skull collection in Yellowstone National Park.
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Ranchers riled after Colorado releases wolves from Oregon packs that killed livestock
From the Coloradoan:
Colorado ranchers claim that Colorado Parks and Wildlife has reneged on its promise to avoid bringing wolves into the state that have been confirmed to have killed livestock in Oregon.
CPW this week released 10 wolves captured in Oregon into Grand and Summit counties, completing this year’s reintroduction releases. Oregon was the only state willing to give wolves to Colorado.
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Europe has a wolf problem, and a late Norwegian philosopher had the solution
From Down to Earth:
Europe’s “wolf problem” is fast becoming a source of social and political tension. Relative conservation success across the continent has led to calls for action from worried politicians and farming and hunting groups.
And the European Commission has now proposed a change in their international status, from “strictly protected” to “protected”, which could allow people to hunt wolves.
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Wolves: EU proposing lowering protections for wolves – which could bring wolf hunting back to Europe
From National World:
Protections which stop wolves from being hunted in much of Europe may soon be lost, with some conservation groups slamming the move as a backwards step for both biodiversity – and coexistence with wildlife.
The European Commission, which makes up part of the European Union’s executive, has this week proposed changing the international status of wolves from ‘strictly protected’ to just ‘protected’ under the Bern Convention – based on new data suggesting their population has increased to more than 20,000 animals across 23 countries. The strictly protected status means that animals can only be hunted in exceptional circumstances, such as when they pose a risk to human life or safety.
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