From Newsday.com:
ALLIGATOR RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, N.C. — Hunters were once the greatest human threat to the country’s only unique wolf species. Today, it’s motorists.
That fact was brought home last June, when red wolf breeding male No. 2444 was struck and killed on U.S. 64 near Manns Harbor, North Carolina. His death likely meant five pups he’d been providing for died, too.
“We were hoping the mother would return and resume care, but she never did,” Joe Madison, head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s red wolf recovery program, said during a recent visit to the site.
Click here for the full story.
To protect grizzlies, judge won’t reconsider Idaho wolf trapping decision
From CapitalPress.com:
A federal judge denied Idaho’s request that she reconsider her earlier ban on recreational wolf trapping and snaring when Endangered Species Act-protected grizzly bears are not in their dens. Federal Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale in March 2024 ruled that trapping and snaring wolves during the grizzlies’ non-denning period from March 1 to Nov. 30 threatens the bears.
She ordered Idaho Fish and Game curtail its wolf snaring and trapping season in the state’s northern panhandle and Clearwater, Salmon and Upper Snake River regions.
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Police ask for help after ninth wolf illegally killed in Oregon since 2023
From StatesmanJournal.com:
Oregon State Police are asking for help to identify the person responsible for illegally killing a wolf in Union County last month. It is the ninth wolf killed in a poaching incident involving Oregon’s most controversial predator since 2023.
Fish and Wildlife troopers responded to Catherine Creek Lane, about 11 miles southeast of Union, on Jan. 29 and located a wolf tracking collar, a news release said. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife identified the collar as belonging to OR-86 — the alpha male of the Frazier Mountain Pack.
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Now is the time for better gray wolf management strategy
From WashingtonPolicy.org:
Gray wolves are in Washington state to stay. Changing how we manage their population will improve relationships between agencies, ranchers, and activists.
HB 1442 proposes a new approach to management that gives counties in which gray wolves are recovered the flexibility to begin developing localized approaches to depredation response, poaching, impacts to ungulate habitats, and more.
Click here for the full story.
Restoring predators, restoring ecosystems: Yellowstone wolves and other carnivores drive strong trophic cascade
From Phys.org:
A new study reveals the profound ecological effects of wolves and other large carnivores in Yellowstone National Park, showcasing the cascading effects predators can have on ecosystems. In Yellowstone, this involves wolves and other large carnivores, elk, and willows.
The research, which utilized previously published data from 25 riparian (streamside) sites and collected over a 20 year period, from 2001 to 2020, revealed a remarkable 1,500% increase in willow crown volume along riparian zones in northern Yellowstone National Park, driven by the effects on elk due to a restored large carnivore guild following the reintroduction of wolves in 1995–96, and other factors.
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In Response to 2024 Wolf Torture, Killing, Wyoming Seeks to Write New Chapter
From MountainJournal.org:
Wyoming has long had a complicated relationship with wolves. Now, two bills introduced at the legislative level are looking to curb cruelty to wolves and other predators.
Officials discuss recapture protocols as Colorado gray wolf skirts New Mexico border near Raton
From TaosNews.com:
A female gray wolf with a radio collar was exploring territory in Southern Colorado a month ago, roughly 100 miles north of Raton, according to the latest Colorado Parks and Wildlife gray wolf activity map.
But what happens if a gray wolf crosses from Colorado into New Mexico?
Click here for the full story.
What U.S. President Trump’s initial executive orders could mean for animals
From HumaneSociety.org:
Since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House last month for a second term, his administration has been issuing dozens of executive orders, some of which can have an impact on animals.
Executive orders are presidential instructions designed to direct federal government agencies and their staff members to take (or not take) certain actions, and it is customary for presidents to issue them early in their tenure to make good on campaign promises and/or pivot to agency agendas of their own. A permissible and legal executive order needs to be rooted in one of the president’s constitutionally outlined powers or in a law approved by the Congress.
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Washington sheriffs would welcome bigger role in wolf management
From CapitalPress.com:
OLYMPIA — Two sheriffs told the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee that county officials in northeast Washington should have more say in managing wolves. Stevens County Sheriff Brad Manke and Ferry County Sheriff Ray Maycumber testified Wednesday for a bill calling for local boards to develop wolf-management plans in counties with at least three reproducing wolf packs.
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A North Carolina wildlife crossing will save people. Can it save the last wild red wolves too?
From Newsday.com:
ALLIGATOR RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, N.C. — Hunters were once the greatest human threat to the country’s only unique wolf species. Today, it’s motorists.
That fact was brought home last June, when red wolf breeding male No. 2444 was struck and killed on U.S. 64 near Manns Harbor, North Carolina. His death likely meant five pups he’d been providing for died, too.
“We were hoping the mother would return and resume care, but she never did,” Joe Madison, head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s red wolf recovery program, said during a recent visit to the site.
Click here for the full story.
Museomics and morphological analyses of historical and contemporary peninsular Italian wolf (Canis lupus italicus) samples
From Nature.com:
After centuries of decline and protracted bottlenecks, the peninsular Italian wolf population has naturally recovered. However, an exhaustive comprehension of the effects of such a conservation success is still limited by the reduced availability of historical data. Therefore, in this study, we morphologically and genetically analyzed historical and contemporary wolf samples, also exploiting the optimization of an innovative bone DNA extraction method, to describe the morphological variability of the subspecies and its genetic diversity during the last 30 years.
Click here for the full story.