From The Atlantic:
The day was cold, gray, and rainy, and the wolf smelled exactly like a wet dog. I sat on my heels, my shoulders just a few inches higher than hers, and hesitantly scratched her belly, her thick, black-tipped gray fur soft and greasy between my fingers. She nosed at my face, bumping my chin and lapping my cheeks. She tried to slide her long, flexible tongue into my mouth, and when that failed, an unguarded nostril.
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Moose population on Isle Royale highest since ’95 — but there’s a problem
From the Detroit Free Press:
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Moose are thriving at Isle Royale National Park, but the trees on which they feast are paying a heavy price, scientists reported Tuesday.
An estimated 2,060 of the lumbering beasts roam the island wilderness, according to a report by Michigan Technological University researchers who spend weeks there each winter observing the relationship between moose and the wolves that prey on them.
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Himalayan Wolf Needs Recognition as Distinct Species, Study Finds
From EcoWatch:
The Himalayan wolf is a distinct species of wolf, which shows unique genetic adaptation to the difficult conditions in the Asian high altitude ecosystems, a study found, reiterating that it needs to be identified as a species of special conservation concern. “Conservation action for the Himalayan wolf is required and of global conservation interest,” noted the study.
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Wolf watching’s main man lets up
From the Jackson Hole News and Guide:
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK— The deep, raspy roars of two grizzly bears battling on their hind legs are audible from hundreds of yards away.
It’s just before 7:30 on an early April morning as Rick McIntyre shuffles through the snow up to the drama, capped by a black wolf opportunistically eating on what’s left of a bison carcass that spurred the skirmish. Any banter that rises above a whisper (I learn firsthand) is quickly shushed. The scene unfolds at the so-called “Bob’s knob” rise overlooking the low reaches of Slough Creek, where around two dozen devoted cameramen and wolf-watchers are entranced, along with a few lucky folks passing by.
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Are Isle Royale’s new wolves pairing up? GPS trackers could spell l-o-v-e
From MLive.com:
ISLE ROYALE, MI — Bringing in a diverse mix of healthy wolves to Michigan’s Isle Royale was only part of the equation when the National Park Service set out to increase the remote island’s tiny predator population last year.
With the first batch of new wolves now sniffing around their Michigan home, scientists have their eyes on another big piece of the effort: How soon will Isle Royale see its first wolf pups?
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Video documents rescue of six wolves from Michipicoten Island in March
A new video chronicles the amazing efforts that took place in March to move six wolves from Michipicoten Island and one from the Canadian mainland to Isle Royale. The International Wolf Center played a key role in the project, thanks to your support!
Enjoy this look back on the amazing weekend:
Someone is poisoning dogs, wildlife near U.P. border, authorities warn
From Mlive.com:
Family pets and several types of wildlife have died after ingesting fast-acting poison in recent weeks near the Upper Peninsula’s border with Wisconsin. Authorities have issued a warning, saying someone is intentionally mixing an insecticide with meat and leaving it for animals to find.
Government agencies and local authorities are asking for the public’s help in solving a string of fatal poisonings that have occurred since December in three Wisconsin counties along or near the U.P.’s western border.
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Hunting, fewer pups, disease reduce Wyoming wolf population
From the San Francisco Chronicle and the Associated Press:
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Biologists estimate the overall Wyoming wolf population at 286 this year, which is down 61 animals from a year ago.
The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports that’s the fewest wolves counted in the state since the Wyoming Game and Fish Department took over management and initiated wolf hunting seven years ago.
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Wolf population declining in Yellowstone National Park
From Buckrail.com and the Associated Press:
POWELL, Wyo. (AP) – Officials say Yellowstone National Park’s gray wolf population has dropped to about 80 wolves—less than half of the highest population mark in the park.
The Powell Tribune reported on Thursday that while park officials won’t have an accurate count until the fall after surviving pups are visible, the park’s top biologist, Doug Smith, doesn’t expect the numbers to rise dramatically after litters are included in population estimates.
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Wolves: The most political animal
From The Atlantic:
The day was cold, gray, and rainy, and the wolf smelled exactly like a wet dog. I sat on my heels, my shoulders just a few inches higher than hers, and hesitantly scratched her belly, her thick, black-tipped gray fur soft and greasy between my fingers. She nosed at my face, bumping my chin and lapping my cheeks. She tried to slide her long, flexible tongue into my mouth, and when that failed, an unguarded nostril.
Click here for the full story.
Proposed Plan Outlines When Oregon Can Kill a Wolf
From Jefferson Public Radio in Oregon:
Wolf populations are increasing in Oregon, which makes a proposed wolf management plan released Monday all the more controversial. In fact, neither conservationists nor cattle owners are entirely happy with the proposal.
Under current regulations, a wolf that commits two depredations — livestock attacks — within any period of time is a “chronic depredator.” That’s when state officials could consider killing it.
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