Two black wolves, which are very rarely seen in Europe, have been spotted roaming the forests of central Poland.
The remarkable sight was captured on special cameras set up by wildlife researchers in the northern part of the Świętokrzyskie region, which lies around 150 km south of the capital, Warsaw.
“Black wolves are more commonly seen in North America. In Europe, 99% of wolves have gray fur, as indicated by their scientific name Canis lupus – the gray wolf,” said Artur Milanowski, a forester from the Suchedniów Forest District who has been tracking wolves for two decades.
CPW staff went to Canada before commission vote that could have paused wolf reintroductions
From 9News.com:
DENVER — When Colorado Parks and Wildlife commissioners voted in January on whether or not to pause further wolf reintroductions, CPW already had staff in Canada prepared to start capturing wolves, a CPW spokesperson confirmed to 9NEWS.
“The agency had to be ready to start capture operations if the petition to pause reintroduction was denied as the contracts with capture helicopters and other logistical arrangements were in place,” CPW spokesperson Rachael Gonzales told 9NEWS.
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Wildlife regulators are looking for timber wolves in Lower Michigan
From MLive.com:
TRAVERSE CITY, MI – State wildlife officials are again looking for wolves in Lower Michigan.
Scientists with the state Department of Natural Resources want residents of the northern Lower Peninsula to keep their eyes open for gray wolves, also called timber wolves. The official survey period will run from next week on Feb. 17 through March 10.
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New model shows dogs could have domesticated themselves
From NationalGeographic.com:
Maybe dogs didn’t need us at all to domesticate themselves. They may have been drawn to the discarded remains from ancient human meals, and a new model shows tame wolves could have become dogs in as little as 8,000 years.
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Michigan DNR plans wolf survey in the Lower Peninsula; here’s how you can help
From WKYZ.com:
(WXYZ) — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking for the public’s help to conduct a community-based wolf survey in the Lower Peninsula.According to the DNR, they are surveying to detect any potential presence of gray wolves.
It will take place from Feb. 17 through March 10, and the survey will rely on reports of public wolf sightings and other potential evidence.
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7th District Legislators Pine for Local Control of Wolf Management [Washington]
From KPQ.com:
There is broad agreement among Washington’s 7th district legislators, at least insofar as gray wolves are concerned.
East of Highway 97, there reputedly lives a healthy, fast-stabilizing and sometimes disruptive (or worse) wolf population. Legislators here want state law to reflect the attitude of federal watchdogs, who insist gray wolves are in much less trouble than before existentially. Here is a guide – a partial guide, anyway – to wolf-related bills percolating in Olympia. All of them strive to establish “local control of wolf management in the state’s northeastern counties.”
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Ranchers express concerns as lone gray wolf enters Teller County [Colorado]
From KOAA.com:
TELLER COUNTY, Colo. — Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) says a gray wolf has entered the state’s Southeast region, including Park, Teller, and Fremont Counties. CPW wants people to be on the lookout for the female wolf for their safety.
“We have mama cows,” said Ranch owner Tom Hatton. Hatton says ranching has been very difficult to do for years. “Coyotes are acclimated. We are also dealing with predations from coyotes,” Hatton said. Hatton says he’s concerned about a wolf in the area.
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A Bill That Would’ve Outlawed Running Over Wolves, Coyotes with Snowmachines Failed in Wyoming
From OutdoorLife.com:
Chasing and killing predators like wolves and coyotes with snowmachines remains legal in Wyoming even after some lawmakers tried twice to ban the practice Thursday.
The two efforts, a bill called Taking of Predators on Private Lands and another an amendment to an anti-wildlife torture bill, failed largely because the agricultural community says running over carnivores with snowmachines is necessary to manage domestic livestock in the state’s most-rural areas. National media and members of the public, on the other hand, are confusing the practice with hunting.
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WSB: Breeding wolves vulnerable to wolf harvest
From Wildlife.org:
The legal wolf harvest in Idaho disproportionately affects breeding individuals—males and females that lead packs—during the breeding season.
Previous research reveals that removing these individuals from packs can hinder population growth.
“Those breeders are more vulnerable during the breeding season—they have breeding on the mind,” said Peter Rebholz, a research biologist at the University of Idaho.
In a study published recently in Wildlife Society Bulletin, Rebholz and his colleagues identified breeders from tissue samples from wolves harvested in Idaho. Then, they determined what proportion of the harvested wolves were breeders and what season they were harvested in.
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Extremely rare black wolves spotted in Poland’s Świętokrzyskie forests
From TVPWorld.com:
Two black wolves, which are very rarely seen in Europe, have been spotted roaming the forests of central Poland.
Beef producers bring wolf predation back into spotlight [Canada]
From ManitobaCooperator.ca:
Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) says they’re cautiously optimistic about addressing ongoing issues with wolf predation, although some of their members are hot under the collar about it.
Wolves appear to be becoming bolder, a number of producers have stood up to say during industry meetings and over social media.
Stan Hutton, a landowner near Lake of the Prairies, said he has witnessed and heard of increasing wolf attacks from producers in his area. He recently alerted the Manitoba government to wolf activity in the Bodnaruk Hill subdivision at Lake of the Prairies. “It seems like the wolves are less afraid of human contact,” he said.
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