This is the breeding female from Michipicoten Island. Photo by M. Verant, National Park Service
Update at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, March 24: Three wolves were saved from Michipicoten Island on Saturday. There were two females and one male.
The scars on the breeding female’s face document a hard-fought life. She is in poor body condition and is probably at the end of her reproductive life cycle. However, she will be able to join her mate on Isle Royale where abundant prey is available and define how many chapters will remain for her life.
Her daughter is a 2-year-old female, number 15. She had a colon full of small plastic bits and was far away from bait piles where the males were captured. With weight differences it would have been hard to hold her own at a bait pile with males tipping the scales at more than 90 pounds. The females were weighed between 50 and 60 pounds. She appeared to be in the early stages of pregnancy. Parks staff will monitor her progress and success. Food has been scarce for the last year and there is no evidence that 2018 pups survived. These pups will have a better chance and the female has the opportunity to breed again.
This black male is a pack mate of the two black wolves previously transported to Isle Royale. Photograph by Jess Lenthe
Most of the beaver huts had multiple wolf tracks all over top of them as the wolves waited for the first signs of spring break up. One of the captured Michipicoten males had recently caught a beaver. Any remaining wolves on Michipicoten will have slim pickings as spring evolves into summer. The research project will continue on the remaining. There may be one or two wolves remaining on Michipicoten, but none could be located and the operation shifted to the mainland to see if an additional wolf could be added to the black pack as the donor funds were running down. Within an hour, a healthy 99-pound male was caught from the original pack.
With the remaining funding, OMNRF had just enough funding to complete the transfers of all the wolves caught on Friday and Saturday to Isle Royale National Park with the operation coming to a close at sunset.
Carol Brady of the National Parks of Lake Superior foundation said: “We were on the phone all day keeping the agencies informed of the donations and the last minute donors made the difference on finishing out the day. The International Wolf Center and NPLSF foundation want to thank everyone involved in this extremely successful wolf mission that met our goals of moving six Michipicoten wolves to Isle Royale and a bolstering of the two black pack members on Isle Royale from February’s translocation with the addition of a 99-pound black male in better shape than all the other wolves moved during this effort.”
Update as of Saturday, March 23, 7 p.m.: Two females (the breeding female and a second, which is possibly her daughter) were captured on Michipicoten Island. Later Saturday, the crew found a 100-pound black male wolf on the island. All three are going to be released on Isle Royale either tonight or Sunday, March 24. We should have photos soon.
Update as of Saturday, March 23, 7 a.m: On Thursday, March 21, the professional capture team from Bighorn Helicopter indicated they were available for the Michipicoten wolf capture effort if Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and the National Park Service could start early on Friday, March 22.
SUNY Professor Jerry Belant lending a hand to Ashley McCleran to conduct a field check of female wolf. Photo courtesy of National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
Bighorn Helicopter owner (R) Clay Wilson and net gunner Clayton Thibeault ready to begin operations. Photo courtesy of National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
Michipicoten Park Superintendent Bob Elliott holding an anesthetized wolf for transport to vet check stations. Photo courtesy of National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
National Park Service Veterinarian Michelle Verant and Thunder Bay Veterinarian Nicole Chandler thoroughly examine wolf 009 from Michipicoten. Photo courtesy of National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
The team mobilized early and by the end of Friday, four Michipicoten wolves were caught on the island and transported for veterinary checks in the Wawa area. Three males and one female were captured, with one male weighing in at 99 pounds. The wolves ranged from poor to good condition, and all were deemed suitable for transport to Isle Royale National Park. The wolves are being held overnight due to darkness and air transport availability.
A number of critical factors fell into place for the team Friday. The first was that the professional contract crew, the pilots, could actually see Michipicoten Island from the mainland when they headed out and had smooth flying weather. Second, the remaining wolves had banded into small packs making capture less disruptive to non-targeted wolves. The alpha female was sighted and appeared to be in good health, running with two other wolves. The capture crews are returning to the island Saturday morning to target her capture while the four wolves captured on Friday will make the journey across Lake Superior Saturday to arrive on Isle Royale National Park in the late afternoon.
All photos are courtesy of the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
To see where Michipicoten Island is, click here.
When images and more details from today’s efforts become available, we will post them here.
Friday, March 22, 2 p.m.: the International Wolf Center learned that two of the remaining wolves on Michipicoten Island were captured. The wolves are en route to a facility where their health will be assessed. If they are deemed healthy, they will be flown to Isle Royale where they will be released as quickly and carefully as possible.
9 a.m. Friday, March 22. The International Wolf Center will be posting daily updates this weekend on the progress of an urgent operation to move about six wolves to Isle Royale.
Those updates will be posted on this page.
Work is expected to begin today and we should have an update early this evening.
Of course, all of this depends on numerous factors out of our control. We do promise to do our best to get the updates posted on a timely basis.
ISLE ROYALE UPDATE: Total of seven wolves on Michipicoten Island captured
This is the breeding female from Michipicoten Island. Photo by M. Verant, National Park Service
Update at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, March 24: Three wolves were saved from Michipicoten Island on Saturday. There were two females and one male.
The scars on the breeding female’s face document a hard-fought life. She is in poor body condition and is probably at the end of her reproductive life cycle. However, she will be able to join her mate on Isle Royale where abundant prey is available and define how many chapters will remain for her life.
Her daughter is a 2-year-old female, number 15. She had a colon full of small plastic bits and was far away from bait piles where the males were captured. With weight differences it would have been hard to hold her own at a bait pile with males tipping the scales at more than 90 pounds. The females were weighed between 50 and 60 pounds. She appeared to be in the early stages of pregnancy. Parks staff will monitor her progress and success. Food has been scarce for the last year and there is no evidence that 2018 pups survived. These pups will have a better chance and the female has the opportunity to breed again.
This black male is a pack mate of the two black wolves previously transported to Isle Royale. Photograph by Jess Lenthe
Most of the beaver huts had multiple wolf tracks all over top of them as the wolves waited for the first signs of spring break up. One of the captured Michipicoten males had recently caught a beaver. Any remaining wolves on Michipicoten will have slim pickings as spring evolves into summer. The research project will continue on the remaining. There may be one or two wolves remaining on Michipicoten, but none could be located and the operation shifted to the mainland to see if an additional wolf could be added to the black pack as the donor funds were running down. Within an hour, a healthy 99-pound male was caught from the original pack.
With the remaining funding, OMNRF had just enough funding to complete the transfers of all the wolves caught on Friday and Saturday to Isle Royale National Park with the operation coming to a close at sunset.
Carol Brady of the National Parks of Lake Superior foundation said: “We were on the phone all day keeping the agencies informed of the donations and the last minute donors made the difference on finishing out the day. The International Wolf Center and NPLSF foundation want to thank everyone involved in this extremely successful wolf mission that met our goals of moving six Michipicoten wolves to Isle Royale and a bolstering of the two black pack members on Isle Royale from February’s translocation with the addition of a 99-pound black male in better shape than all the other wolves moved during this effort.”
Update as of Saturday, March 23, 7 p.m.: Two females (the breeding female and a second, which is possibly her daughter) were captured on Michipicoten Island. Later Saturday, the crew found a 100-pound black male wolf on the island. All three are going to be released on Isle Royale either tonight or Sunday, March 24. We should have photos soon.
Update as of Saturday, March 23, 7 a.m: On Thursday, March 21, the professional capture team from Bighorn Helicopter indicated they were available for the Michipicoten wolf capture effort if Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and the National Park Service could start early on Friday, March 22.
SUNY Professor Jerry Belant lending a hand to Ashley McCleran to conduct a field check of female wolf. Photo courtesy of National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
Bighorn Helicopter owner (R) Clay Wilson and net gunner Clayton Thibeault ready to begin operations. Photo courtesy of National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
Michipicoten Park Superintendent Bob Elliott holding an anesthetized wolf for transport to vet check stations. Photo courtesy of National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
National Park Service Veterinarian Michelle Verant and Thunder Bay Veterinarian Nicole Chandler thoroughly examine wolf 009 from Michipicoten. Photo courtesy of National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
The team mobilized early and by the end of Friday, four Michipicoten wolves were caught on the island and transported for veterinary checks in the Wawa area. Three males and one female were captured, with one male weighing in at 99 pounds. The wolves ranged from poor to good condition, and all were deemed suitable for transport to Isle Royale National Park. The wolves are being held overnight due to darkness and air transport availability.
A number of critical factors fell into place for the team Friday. The first was that the professional contract crew, the pilots, could actually see Michipicoten Island from the mainland when they headed out and had smooth flying weather. Second, the remaining wolves had banded into small packs making capture less disruptive to non-targeted wolves. The alpha female was sighted and appeared to be in good health, running with two other wolves. The capture crews are returning to the island Saturday morning to target her capture while the four wolves captured on Friday will make the journey across Lake Superior Saturday to arrive on Isle Royale National Park in the late afternoon.
All photos are courtesy of the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, J. Graham.
To see where Michipicoten Island is, click here.
When images and more details from today’s efforts become available, we will post them here.
Friday, March 22, 2 p.m.: the International Wolf Center learned that two of the remaining wolves on Michipicoten Island were captured. The wolves are en route to a facility where their health will be assessed. If they are deemed healthy, they will be flown to Isle Royale where they will be released as quickly and carefully as possible.
9 a.m. Friday, March 22. The International Wolf Center will be posting daily updates this weekend on the progress of an urgent operation to move about six wolves to Isle Royale.
Those updates will be posted on this page.
Work is expected to begin today and we should have an update early this evening.
Of course, all of this depends on numerous factors out of our control. We do promise to do our best to get the updates posted on a timely basis.
International Wolf Center plans online videoconferences with students in Vietnam and Nigeria over one-week span
Contact:
Chad Richardson, communications director
International Wolf Center
Office: 763-560-7374, ext. 225
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – A small group of students in Vietnam will have a unique experience March 23. Teachers there will connect their students through the internet to the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota, for a science-based program about wolves.
This program comes just a few days after the International Wolf Center presented a similar program to students in Nigeria.
“Since we were founded, we’ve worked hard to educate the world about wolves,” Executive Director Rob Schultz said. “These two programs shine some light on the important work we do across the world.”
These two programs aren’t the first time the Center has connected to such faraway places, but it is unique for two of the international programs to be so close together on the calendar.
“Students at each school will be amazed by our WolfLink videoconferences,” Schultz said. “They’ll even get a live view of our wolves in Ely during their live program.”
WolfLink videoconferences teach science-based facts about wolves to audiences around the world. Classrooms get a chance to see live wolves from the facility in Ely and learn from lesson plans developed specifically for their grade level. Most programs are $75.
Teachers can order a Wolf Discovery Kit, which includes hands-on learning materials such as bones, fur and teeth for them to observe and pass around.
Similar programs are held hundreds of times every year for classrooms around North America and Europe.
In addition to the videoconferences, the International Wolf Center has educators who travel into schools to present programs to more than 15,000 students every year. That program is called Wolves at Our Door.
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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 website.
Wolves Kill Two Women In Tajikistan After Villagers’ Hunting Rifles Confiscated
From Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty:
DUSHANBE — Wolves have killed two women in eastern Tajikistan, prompting complaints from residents that they have been unable to defend themselves against wolf attacks since local authorities confiscated their hunting rifles.
Umeda Yusupova, a spokeswoman for the Tajik government’s Committee on Emergency Situations and Civil Defense, told RFE/RL that the deadly wolf attack took place in the early morning hours of March 7 in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous region.
Click here for the full story.
Foundations fund urgent wolf transfer to Isle Royale
Up to six wolves, in danger of starvation, could be moved this weekend
Contacts:
National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation – Carol Brady
Phone: 906-362-3152
E-mail: [email protected]
International Wolf Center – Chad Richardson
Phone: 763-560-7374, ext. 225
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 651-214-4989
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (The Foundation) announced today that, with the support of the International Wolf Center, an urgent final effort is underway to move four to six wolves to Isle Royale National Park over the next four days.
Earlier this year, two wolves from Michipicoten Island (located in northern Lake Superior) were moved to Isle Royale. Four to six wolves still remain on the island and are at risk since their only available winter prey on the island, caribou, are gone. Officials had hoped to move all of the wolves off Michipicoten earlier, but poor weather, government shutdowns and a lack of funding delayed that effort.
The Foundation and the International Wolf Center agree that this wolf relocation project needs a strong start to have a more immediate impact on the current burgeoning moose population on Isle Royale, where an estimate of more than 1,600 moose are threatening the ecosystem.
“On Michipicoten, nature’s lessons can be cruel and starvation is one of them,” said Sona Mehring, the chair of the Foundation. “For the remaining wolves on Michipicoten, that will be their fate unless we help move them to Isle Royale National Park, where their hunting skills and genetics can add value to establishing a new population of wolves on Isle Royale.”
“We’re especially proud of the fact that the International Wolf Center is helping to save the lives of a small pack of wolves on Michipicoten Island,” said the Center’s Executive Director Rob Schultz. “Since all of the caribou have been removed from Michipicoten, there’s nothing left for the wolves there to eat this winter and there is a real threat of starvation.”
It is estimated that the four-day effort, which will begin either Friday (March 22) or Saturday (March 23), will cost $100,000. The Foundation raised $30,000. The International Wolf Center raised an additional $45,000. The organizations have started a GoFundMe page to raise the final $25,000. That page can be found at bit.ly/isleroyalewolves.
“As we discussed this project, we found many people who supported seeing the forests of Isle Royale remaining healthy,” Mehring said. “We are close to realizing the goal of providing another capture opportunity to move these iconic wolves to an island that needs them in its ecosystem.”
Science has long showed that wolves play an important role in nature. This translocation shows how wolves can be used to naturally manage ungulate populations.
“Since the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park, we’ve seen first-hand the positive impact wolves have on ecosystems,” Schultz said. “A thriving wolf population in Isle Royale’s ecosystem will make a similar impact. If left unchecked, moose would over-consume the island’s vegetation. Apex predators, like wolves, are important components of any healthy, natural ecosystems.
“This shows just one more way we put our donor’s support to hard work to advance wolf populations around the world. We’re honored to team up with National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation to make a difference together.”
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National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation of the natural resources and unique cultural heritage of Lake Superior’s five U.S. National Parks. National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation funds research, restoration, education, and resource protection projects for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Grand Portage National Monument, Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation has a proven record of funding projects both large and small providing more that $1.5 million in funding across all five parks.
The International Wolf Center, founded in 1985, is known worldwide as the premier source for wolf information and education. The mission of the Center is to advance the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. The Center educates through its website, its ambassador wolves, museum exhibits, educational outreach programs, International Wolf magazine, and a beautiful interpretive center in Ely, Minnesota.
Wolves kill flock of sheep in France
From FieldSportsChannel.tv:
French farmers blame wolf attacks for the deaths of a more than 50 sheep and goats in a single night. The attack took place in Avançon, in the Hautes-Alpes region of France. The following morning, the farmer affected reported eight ewes, 21 lambs and four kids killed, with 10 kids and 16 lambs missing.
Click here for the full story.
Wolf packs thriving in the mountains of Madrid
From MurciaToday.com:
Cattle farmers in Madrid reported almost 400 attacks on their animals last year.
Click here for the full story.
WILDLIFE OFFICIALS CONFIRM ROGUE PACK WOLVES RESPONSIBLE FOR PUPPY DEATH
From KDRV.com:
BOUNDARY BUTTE, Ore. — Wolves from Southern Oregon’s local pack are believed responsible for the death of a 16-week-old puppy on a rancher’s land last week, according to the latest wolf depredation from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).
On Friday morning, a livestock owner in the Boundary Butte area found one of his “mastiff-mix pups” dead near his home and reported it to ODFW. He said that he’d last seen the dog alive at midnight the same morning when his dogs began barking.
Click here for the full story.
Wolves on the rise in Belgium
From The Brussels Times:
Click here for the full story.
Why is Georgia Land of The Wolves?
From the Georgian Journal:
Georgia is described as Land of The Wolves on the map published by the Culture Trip. The Culture Trip is a start-up inspiring millions of people to explore the world’s culture and creativity.
Click here for the full story.
Africa’s rarest carnivores face threats from disease-carrying dogs
From Mother Nature Network:
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.