Europe’s big carnivores are on the rise – but can we live with bears next door?

From TheGuardian.com:

Europe’s carnivores have had a remarkable change in fortune. After tens of thousands of years of persecution that wiped out sabretooth tigers, hyenas and cave lions, there has been a recent rebound in the continent’s surviving predators.

Across mainland Europe, bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine numbers have risen dramatically as conservation measures introduced several decades ago have begun to make an impact.

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EU’s wolf climbdown has Dutch farmers reaching for their guns

From Yahoo.com:

Rendered dormant for over a century, the “wolvenjager” – the wolf hunter – could be unleashed once more if calls from Dutch farmers are heard.

Wolves were driven out of the Netherlands in the late 19th century, but after the feared predators were deemed untouchable under a “strict protection” order issued by the EU in 1982 they returned in 2015.

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[Montana] FWP releases final environmental impact statement for gray wolf management

From NBCMontana.com:

HELENA, Mont. — Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks issued a final environmental impact statement for the 2025 Wolf Management Plan.

The draft EIS was open to public comment from Oct. 20, 2023, to Dec. 19, 2023, and also from Feb. 8, 2024, to March 9, 2024.

FWP analyzed two alternatives to the final EIS. The options included a “no action” alternative and FWP’s proposal to implement the 2025 Montana Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan.

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Michigan’s wolf numbers are growing, presenting challenges

From SpartanNewsRoom:

LANSING – Michigan’s population of wolves has been growing since they were added to the Endangered Species Act slightly more than 50 years ago.

Since then, wolves have slowly repopulated the Upper Peninsula, moving from the western Great Lake states.

And on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, where the National Park Service reintroduced wolves from the mainland starting in 2019, the population is estimated to have grown to around 30.

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Reports of wolves killing livestock in Minnesota reach a record high

From StarTribune.com:

Wolf attacks on livestock have climbed to a new high in Minnesota as ranchers reported losing more calves, cows and other animals to the predators in 2024 than any year since records began in the 1980s.

Ranchers made 252 claims of wolves killing livestock last year, compared to the 10-year average of 174 claims a year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The losses, as usual, were primarily young calves.

Wisconsin also saw high numbers of complaints.

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Here’s where Colorado’s gray wolves traveled in February

From SummitDaily.com:

In addition to 28 collared wolves, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is now aware of at least three that are uncollared in the state. This is according to the latest map from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which shows the collared wolves activity between Jan. 21 and Feb. 25.

It shows that there was wolf activity in watersheds connecting portions of Rio Blanco, Moffat, Garfield, Mesa, Routt, Jackson, Summit, Eagle, Grand and Pitkin counties.

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New Study Backs Theory That Wolves Traded the Wild for Table Scraps—and Became Dogs

From Gizmodo.com:

It’s hard to imagine that dogs descended from fierce grey wolves—especially when your fat labrador begs for peanut butter, or your poodle snores on the couch.

And yet, that’s exactly what happened. The ancestors of grey wolves were domesticated into dogs in two distinct periods: around 30,000 to 15,000 years ago, and 15,000 years ago to the modern era. While the more recent period likely saw humans selectively breeding for tamer wolves, the domestication process of the older period has been hotly debated.

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Minnesota bird flu, wolf tracking programs clouded in uncertainty amid Trump’s federal funding freeze

From CBSNews.com:

Minnesota farmers say they are in a valley of uncertainty amid the layoffs and cost-cutting measures of the first few weeks of President Trump’s second term.

“It’s really … a day-to-day, hour-to-hour situation,” Minnesota Department of Agriculture commissioner Thom Peterson said.

Peterson says some programs and initiatives designed to help farmers are now in doubt. He also added that there are freezes on grants for research initiatives. He cited that some research funding that goes to the University of Minnesota, for example, is done.

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[California] Rancher updates supervisors on wolves

From PlumasSun.org:

Sierra Valley rancher Rick Roberti appealed to the Plumas County Board of Supervisors Feb. 11 to support local ranchers. Their businesses are losing as much as $50,000 a year, he said. The culprit: wolves.

“I don’t know what to do anymore when a neighbor calls to tell me he’s been devastated by wolves,” he said.

Roberti, who represents the Sierra Cattlemen’s Association, serves on an ad hoc committee formed by the board of supervisors in July, 2024, to work with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on wolf management.

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Arizona Game and Fish Department responds to Mexican wolf depredations on livestock

From GilaHerald.com:

PHOENIX — Over the last month, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) has received several calls and viewed social media posts regarding Mexican wolf and livestock interactions in southeastern Arizona. The focus has been suspected Mexican wolf depredations on livestock.

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