From Earth Touch News.com:
A thick layer of frost blankets the landscape, creating a gauzy haze over the tans and pale greens of the Ethiopian Highlands. Amidst the frozen stillness, a rust-colored lump dusted in rime stirs. A black nose appears from beneath a thick tail, and two ears twitch atop an elegantly long head. At last, the wolf rises, arches its back in a long stretch, and shakes. Nearby, several other pack members rise as well, touching noses in greeting. Pups, just weeks old, emerge from a shallow den and begin playing, scrambling over rocks, tugging at each other’s tails. As the sky brightens, the adults trot off to patrol the edge of the group’s territory and begin the day’s hunt.
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Can hungry wolf immigrants save Isle Royale forests?
From the Great Lakes Echo:
The recent transfer of six starving wolves to Isle Royale benefits not only them but the island’s entire forest ecosystem.
For the past three years only two wolves populated the 207 square mile island in the northwest of Lake Superior, according to the National Park Service. The male is the female’s father as well as half-brother, said Sarah Hoy, an assistant professor at Michigan Technological University who studies how the increasing moose population affects the island.
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By design, wolf counts shrink in Wyoming
From the Jackson Hole News & Guide:
A dearth of wolves in places like the Gros Ventre River valley this winter was not an anomaly, as wildlife managers are reporting reduced numbers throughout wolf range in the state.
The overall Wyoming wolf population, estimated at 286 as the calendar turned to 2019, was down 61 animals from a year ago. That’s the fewest animals counted since the Wyoming Game and Fish Department took over management and initiated hunting seven years ago.
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Lawmakers debate future of Montana wolves
From the Great Falls Tribune in Montana:
HELENA — The future of the gray wolf in Montana has led to a tug-of-war between conservationists and ranchers over policy proposals in the 2019 legislative session, and both sides have claimed victories.
On Thursday, a Senate committee advanced two house bills that would make wolf hunting licenses cheaper. Rep. Bob Brown, a Republican from Thompson Falls, is carrying House bills 407 and 280, which would reduce a the license fee from $19 to $12 and add more of a discount for class AAA combination sports licenses.
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An epic experiment on Lake Superior’s islands, starring wolves, moose and caribou
From the Star Tribune in Minnesota:
Over the course of a few months this winter, the wolf population on Isle Royale National Park ballooned from 2 to 15 in an extraordinary project to artificially shift the balance of a wilderness.
Captured on the mainland and a neighboring island in Lake Superior, the wolves were anesthetized, vaccinated, collared with GPS devices, and transported across the icy waters by boat and helicopter to their new home. In all, it took the combined effort of a university; a cadre of scientists; state, federal, Canadian and tribal governments; and a couple of nonprofit organizations to accomplish the feat between ferocious winter storms.
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Wolves are Back in the Netherlands After Over a Century
From Care2.com:
The Netherlands has a resident wolf population after 140 years without wolves making their home in the Dutch country, but not everyone is happy.
Ecologists report that two female wolves have settled in the Hoge Veluwe nature reserve, with a male also roaming in that same region. Experts from groups such as FreeNature and Wolven in Nederland, as well as scientists from Wageningen University, have been tracking paw prints and scat (wolf droppings) since wolves were first sighted back in the Netherlands in 2015. At the time of their sightings, it seemed likely the wolves were passing over the border from Germany and would return there in short order.
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Scientists conduct study on habitat of Indian grey wolf
From the Millennium Post in India:
Kolkata: A team of scientists from Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have categorically demonstrated the importance and maintenance of probable suitable areas for Indian grey wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) along with its landscape connectivity between Chotta Nagpur Plateau and Lower Gangetic Planes. The study titled “Identifying suitable habitat and corridor for Indian Grey Wolf in Chotta Nagpur Plateau and Lower Gangetic Planes” that has recently been published in the reputed journal PlosOne assumes significance as wolves are suffering from loss of habitat and loss of connectivity in the landscape.
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Gray wolves in Central Oregon? Maybe someday soon, experts say
From The Bulletin in Central Oregon:
After years during which Oregon’s recovering gray wolf population remained concentrated in the far northeast corner of the state, two new groups of wolves have migrated to the Cascade Mountains since the start of 2018.
With an increase in breeding packs nearby, experts are looking for swaths of habitat that may soon host wolves. And Central Oregon’s forests are on the list.
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Making peace in the Golan Heights—between humans and wolves
From NationalGeographic.com:
THE GOLAN HEIGHTS remains one of the world’s most notorious disputed territories. Largely occupied by Israel, its eastern reaches are controlled by Syria and Syrian rebels—and it’s been fought over for at least the last 70-some years.
The landscape is notable for its militarily advantageous high grounds, supplies of oil and freshwater, and extraordinary natural habitat. There, mixed with surprising wildlife like jackals and gazelle on the verge of extinction, 25,000 cattle roam the grassy bluffs of Golan’s volcanic plateau. The herds are kept by Jewish and Druze farmers ranging from Mount Hermon south to the Sea of Galilee’s receding arms.
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Ethiopia: The Last Wolves
From Earth Touch News.com:
A thick layer of frost blankets the landscape, creating a gauzy haze over the tans and pale greens of the Ethiopian Highlands. Amidst the frozen stillness, a rust-colored lump dusted in rime stirs. A black nose appears from beneath a thick tail, and two ears twitch atop an elegantly long head. At last, the wolf rises, arches its back in a long stretch, and shakes. Nearby, several other pack members rise as well, touching noses in greeting. Pups, just weeks old, emerge from a shallow den and begin playing, scrambling over rocks, tugging at each other’s tails. As the sky brightens, the adults trot off to patrol the edge of the group’s territory and begin the day’s hunt.
Click here for the full story.
Necropsies detail deaths of 2 wolves in Isle Royale relocation effort
From MLive.com:
ISLE ROYALE, MI – Necropsy results have been released for two wolves that died after being part of the early phase of the National Park Service’s efforts to bring new wolves onto Michigan’s Isle Royale.
The medical findings for one wolf’s death were fairly clear-cut, while scientists working on the project believe they know what killed the other wolf, according to information released by the NPS recently.
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