From HakaiMagazine.com:
Wolves generally prefer to eat deer, moose, and mountain goats—ungulates are their food of choice. But when those prey are scarce or unavailable, new research shows that wolves in southeast Alaska switch to eating a wide buffet of alternate animals. Some have even switched to sea otters as their favorite fare, preferring them over deer.
The research, conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and Oregon State University from 2010 to 2018, is the first large-scale, region-wide study of wolf diets in southeast Alaska, covering both its archipelago of islands and the mainland, across landscapes from estuaries to alpine tundra.
Click here for the full story.
Yellowstone hazes its habituated wolves, and it works
From the Jackson Hole News & Guide in Wyoming:
Colleen Marzluff whistled to her ornithologist husband, John, as he was looking for a raven nest in a string of trees on the low southern flank of Yellowstone’s Bison Peak.
Since Colleen had taken on the “sentinel” role, John knew that something furry and large was probably entering the area.
Click here for the full story.
Alaska’s Coastal Wolves Are Not Picky Eaters
From HakaiMagazine.com:
Wolves generally prefer to eat deer, moose, and mountain goats—ungulates are their food of choice. But when those prey are scarce or unavailable, new research shows that wolves in southeast Alaska switch to eating a wide buffet of alternate animals. Some have even switched to sea otters as their favorite fare, preferring them over deer.
The research, conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and Oregon State University from 2010 to 2018, is the first large-scale, region-wide study of wolf diets in southeast Alaska, covering both its archipelago of islands and the mainland, across landscapes from estuaries to alpine tundra.
Click here for the full story.
Washington state range riding program reworked in advance of coming wolf season
From The Spokeman-Review in Spokane, Washington:
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has reworked its range riding program, partly in response to allegations of fraud from 2018.
“We’ve all learned about range riding and come to an understanding of what the job duties of a range rider are,” WDFW wolf policy leader Donny Martorello said.
Click here for the full story.
Wisconsin’s wolf management planning ramps up. Hunting and trapping season to begin in early November but kill quota to be determined
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
In the wake of a rushed, court-ordered gray wolf hunting and trapping season that surpassed the state-licensed kill quota by 83% in just three days and attracted international attention, the Department of Natural Resources has begun a deliberate process to inform the next chapters of wolf management in Wisconsin.
In March, the agency formed a Wolf Harvest Advisory Committee to help set a kill quota for the 2021 fall wolf season; the group has had one meeting, April 8.
Click here for the full story.
Colorado and California Prepare for More Wolves
From SierraClub.org:
On February 25, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that a radio-collared wolf had wandered into the state from Oregon. While that in itself was not unusual, OR-93 was detected east of Yosemite National Park, further south than any wandering wolf before him. The news coverage recalled the excitement over OR-7, who earned fans 10 years ago by journeying hundreds of miles in California and Oregon.
Since then, OR-93 has continued to roam the Golden State, first traveling south toward Fresno, then westward to the coast. He was last detected by CDFW on April 6 in San Luis Obispo County.
Click here for the full story.
Members of Wisconsin DNR’s policy-setting board object to agency’s stance on wolf population
From the Spooner Advocate in Wisconsin:
Members of the policy-setting board for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources aren’t happy with the agency’s plans to maintain the wolf population as they develop a quota for this fall’s wolf hunt.
Keith Warnke, administrator of the DNR’s fish, wildlife and parks division, told the agency’s wolf harvest advisory committee last week that the DNR’s objective is “no substantive change” to the state’s wolf population until a new wolf management plan is approved.
Click here for the full story.
Nebraska’s third gray wolf sighting in 20 years confirmed
From KCTV5.com in Nebraska:
OMAHA, Nebraska (Fremont Tribune) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission confirmed the third instance in 20 years of a gray wolf’s presence in the state of Nebraska Wednesday.
The commission received a report of a large female canine that was legally shot by coyote hunters near Uehling, which is about 20 miles north of Fremont, on Jan. 28.
Click here for the full story.
First wolf reintroduction education session is April 28
From The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado:
The first education session on wolf reintroduction will happen this month and the public is invited to attend.
On April 28, from 6 to 8 p.m., two experts from Montana and Idaho will present to the public and members of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission an online educational session as part of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction efforts.
Click here for the full story.
Bills on bears, wolves near passage in Montana Legislature
From the Montana Standard:
Montana Republican lawmakers used their majorities Tuesday to push several high-profile wildlife bills to the brink of passage in the Legislature.
Lawmakers advanced bills allowing the use of hounds to hunt black bears, directing wildlife managers to reduce wolf populations and restricting the state’s response in relocating grizzly bears. The bills, which passed largely along party lines with majority Republicans backing, face a final vote Wednesday to head to the desk of Gov. Greg Gianforte.
Click here for the full story.
First collar video from wild Minnesota wolf shows fishing skills, adaptability
From the Star Tribune in Minnesota:
How exactly do lone wolves spend warm spring days, when food is plentiful and there are no pups to look after?
For generations, researchers have struggled to follow the elusive predators after the snow melts, when the animals split away from their packs to wander or to hunker down in the thick undergrowth of the northern Minnesota woods.
Click here for the full story.