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.
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.
A delicate balance: Calving season collides with expected wolf pup births in Jackson County, Colorado
From the Coloradoan:
JACKSON COUNTY — It’s an unusually warm but usual windy mid-April day as Don Gittleson approaches a calf born recent enough that its mother was eating the afterbirth to keep predators off their scent.
Gittleson, along with his son, Dave Gittleson, and Dave’s wife, Andrea Gittleson, know this cow, ear tag No. 372, is cantankerous during calving time.
Click here for the full story.
Biden administration files placeholder for wolf appeal
From the Duluth News-Tribune in Minnesota:
DULUTH — The Biden administration this week filed a placeholder to appeal the February court order restoring federal protections for wolves across much of the U.S., including in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
The administration filed a notice of appeal to a federal judge’s order in February restoring endangered species protections for gray wolves that were removed under the Trump administration late in 2020.
Click here for the full story.
Washington wolf population continues to rise, report shows
From the Bellevue Reporter in Washington:
Washington’s wolf population continues to show growth for the 13th consecutive year, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
The department published its annual Washington wolf population report on April 9, which shows a 16% increase in the state’s wolf population in 2021 from the previous count in 2020.
Click here for the full story.
Yellowstone: Wolf hunt altered behavior, damaged research
From WyoFile.com:
A recent spate of wolf killings just outside of Yellowstone National Park has altered fundamental aspects of the canines’ behavior, and threatened the foundations of one of the most storied wildlife research efforts in American history, according to park scientists.
Twice in recent months Yellowstone National Park senior wildlife biologist Doug Smith and his team of researchers have observed highly unusual mating behavior.
Click here for the full story.
Gray Wolf Poaching Dismays Oregon Wildlife Conservationists
From The American Prospect:
In the summer of 2014, two young gray wolves in eastern Oregon dispersed from their natal packs—one from the Snake River Pack and the other from the Minam Pack—and paired up. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) had already radio-collared both and tracked them as they traversed the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the northeastern corner of the state.
That year, Oregon had 81 known wolves. While the state was seeing the population rebound after being extirpated in the mid-1940s, that number was far less than the estimated 1,450 wolves that the mountain wilderness could support. The following year, the wolf pair produced two pups that survived. The Catherine Pack grew over the years as eight more pups survived—until last winter.
Click here for the full story.