Newest pups will be part of programs starting around June 3
Contact information:
Chad Richardson, Communications Director, International Wolf Center
Email: chad@wolf.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – The International Wolf Center is adding two pups to its Exhibit Pack in 2022. The pups arrived at the Center on Tuesday, May 10.
The 2022 pups will be visible to the public starting on approximately Friday, June 3.
The Center believes in wolf education, and one method for accomplishing the Center’s mission of advancing survival of wolf populations in the wild is through the use of ambassador wolves.
“These ambassador wolves allow us to teach thousands of people a year about the real behavior of wolves,” said Lori Schmidt, the Center’s wolf curator. “The Exhibit Pack is also a key part of the online programs we offer to schools across the world. These ambassadors are a key part of our aim to teach the world about wolves.”
The Center planned to add pups in 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Center to delay those plans for one year. In 2021, the Center planned to add two pups, but was able to obtain just one pup. Adding pups this year was important for the health of the pack, and to allow our yearling wolf Rieka to experience some pup behavior she lacked as a singleton, Schmidt said.
“So often people portray wolves for their predatory behavior and don’t appreciate the intricate pack life and social organization that keeps them together as a social unit,” she said. “As curator, it is my job to maintain a socially cohesive unit of wolves in the exhibit, and we recognize that to do this, new life must be added to the exhibit.”
The International Wolf Center is a non-breeding exhibit, so when pups are added, we coordinate with another professional animal organization. The source is dependent upon reproductive plans within their facility and availability and the Center always acquires captive-born pups.
The 2022 pups were acquired from a USDA regulated facility in Minnesota. They will join three wolves in the Exhibit Pack, including Axel (6), Grayson (6) and Rieka (who turns 1 on May 23).
How do you see the pups?
One way for visitors to see the pups is through an outdoor viewing area adjacent to the wolf yard, where pups will be spending time conditioning to the human component of a public exhibit. These programs are dependent on the weather. They last 15-minutes each and are held throughout the day.
“We will do our best to accommodate everyone, but safety of our guests, our staff and the wolves is paramount,” said the Interpretive Center Director, Krista Woerheide.
Another way to see the 2022 wolf pups is with a one-hour behind the scenes tour. These tours are only available for members of the International Wolf Center. Information about membership is available at wolf.org.
What will their names be?
The International Wolf Center will conduct a pup naming contest beginning in early June and announce the names at a special virtual fundraising event on June 14.
Advance tickets are available for purchase
Everyone who wants to guarantee themselves a chance to see the pups should get an advance admission ticket. To get your tickets, click the Book Now button on the lower right-hand side of the page at wolf.org. For members of the Center, entrance tickets are free. It is recommended that members also book their tickets in advance.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. For more information about the International Wolf Center, visit wolf.org.
What’s a day like at the biggest wolf hunt in Swedish history?
From The Local in Sweden:
It starts one minute after midnight on January 2nd, deep in the beautiful snow-covered countryside. A small party of hunters start tracking the wolves. Two wolves are found in the woods between Gävleborg and Dalarna län, which share a revir (wolf territory). This particular wolf territory is called “Tinäs”.
At 6am, the hunters have a morning meeting and then 150 hunters disperse to the different “quadrants” to go to their “pass”. A pass is the point a hunter will stand or sit, waiting for the wolves to come their way.
Click here for the full story.
Wisconsin DNR extends new wolf plan comment period
From TMJ4.com:
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin wildlife officials are giving people more time to comment on their new wolf management plan.
The state Department of Natural Resources released their first new wolf plan in almost 25 years in November. The plan doesn’t include a specific statewide population goal, recommending instead that the DNR with the help of advisory committees monitor decide whether to reduce local populations, keep them stable or let them grow.
Click here for the full story.
Wanted: the wolf that killed the EU president’s prized pony
From the nationalpost.com:
Click here for the full story.
Oregon: Two wolf attacks reported in High Valley in late December
From News.Yahoo.com:
Jan. 4—UNION COUNTY — Wolves in the High Valley area of Union County made their violent presence felt at the end of December.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is reporting that “new” wolves in the Catherine Creek Wildlife Management Unit killed two calves on private land in separate attacks.
Click here for the full story.
How Colorado Plans to Reintroduce Wolves on Western Slope by 2023 Deadline
From the Pagosa Daily Post:
Colorado could be less than a year away from the state’s first relocation of gray wolves to parts of the Western Slope, as required by a ballot initiative passed by voters in 2020.
A draft plan released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife last month calls for the reintroduction of 10 to 15 wolves per year over the next three to five years, with an initial target of a stable population of at least 50 animals within the state. (You can download the 293-page plan here.)
Click here for the full story.
Fairytale return makes the wolf a folk devil again
From The Times in the UK:
“The wolves are running” is the haunting refrain in John Masefield’s classic seasonal tale The Box of Delights, and this winter the predator is back on the menace.
While Kay Harker and his friends have the magical powers of Old England to ward off the threat, on mainland Europe there is little anybody can do.
Click here for the full story.
A collared wolf from Michigan’s U.P. roamed more than 4,000 miles before it was killed
From MLive.com:
When a hunter in Manitoba, Canada legally shot and killed a gray wolf in early December, a radio collar found around its neck was the first clue to the incredible journey this animal had been on. The wolf had been collared in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the summer of 2021, and its GPS data since then showed this wolf’s multi-state and two-country trek was one for the record books.
Click here for the full story.
Swedish wolf hunt will be disastrous for species, warn experts
From The Guardian:
The biggest wolf cull in modern times has begun in Sweden as nature organisations warn it could drastically harm the population.
On Monday, the Guardian accompanied 200 hunters as they went to kill wolves in the frost-covered forests between Gävleborg and Dalarna, hunting from midnight until the sun set at 3pm. Groups will be going out across Sweden all month as they attempt to take down the large predators.
International Wolf Center to add two pups in 2022
Newest pups will be part of programs starting around June 3
Contact information:
Chad Richardson, Communications Director, International Wolf Center
Email: chad@wolf.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – The International Wolf Center is adding two pups to its Exhibit Pack in 2022. The pups arrived at the Center on Tuesday, May 10.
The 2022 pups will be visible to the public starting on approximately Friday, June 3.
The Center believes in wolf education, and one method for accomplishing the Center’s mission of advancing survival of wolf populations in the wild is through the use of ambassador wolves.
“These ambassador wolves allow us to teach thousands of people a year about the real behavior of wolves,” said Lori Schmidt, the Center’s wolf curator. “The Exhibit Pack is also a key part of the online programs we offer to schools across the world. These ambassadors are a key part of our aim to teach the world about wolves.”
The Center planned to add pups in 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Center to delay those plans for one year. In 2021, the Center planned to add two pups, but was able to obtain just one pup. Adding pups this year was important for the health of the pack, and to allow our yearling wolf Rieka to experience some pup behavior she lacked as a singleton, Schmidt said.
“So often people portray wolves for their predatory behavior and don’t appreciate the intricate pack life and social organization that keeps them together as a social unit,” she said. “As curator, it is my job to maintain a socially cohesive unit of wolves in the exhibit, and we recognize that to do this, new life must be added to the exhibit.”
The International Wolf Center is a non-breeding exhibit, so when pups are added, we coordinate with another professional animal organization. The source is dependent upon reproductive plans within their facility and availability and the Center always acquires captive-born pups.
The 2022 pups were acquired from a USDA regulated facility in Minnesota. They will join three wolves in the Exhibit Pack, including Axel (6), Grayson (6) and Rieka (who turns 1 on May 23).
How do you see the pups?
One way for visitors to see the pups is through an outdoor viewing area adjacent to the wolf yard, where pups will be spending time conditioning to the human component of a public exhibit. These programs are dependent on the weather. They last 15-minutes each and are held throughout the day.
“We will do our best to accommodate everyone, but safety of our guests, our staff and the wolves is paramount,” said the Interpretive Center Director, Krista Woerheide.
Another way to see the 2022 wolf pups is with a one-hour behind the scenes tour. These tours are only available for members of the International Wolf Center. Information about membership is available at wolf.org.
What will their names be?
The International Wolf Center will conduct a pup naming contest beginning in early June and announce the names at a special virtual fundraising event on June 14.
Advance tickets are available for purchase
Everyone who wants to guarantee themselves a chance to see the pups should get an advance admission ticket. To get your tickets, click the Book Now button on the lower right-hand side of the page at wolf.org. For members of the Center, entrance tickets are free. It is recommended that members also book their tickets in advance.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. For more information about the International Wolf Center, visit wolf.org.
Wisconsin: Conservation Congress respondents support 350-wolf limit
From the Star Tribune in Minnesota:
MADISON, Wis. — Most of the respondents to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress’ spring survey say they support limiting the state’s wolf population to 350 animals.
The congress, an influential group of sportspeople who advise the state Department of Natural Resources on policy, holds a survey each spring gauging respondents’ support for a wide range of outdoor and environmental proposals. This year’s survey was conducted online earlier this month.
Click here for the full story.