Colorado range riders on the ground as calving season underway, wolf depredations continue

From Coloradoan.com:

Six of 12 range riders hired by Colorado Parks and Wildlife to deter wolves from livestock are ready to go, and the second six are expected to be on the ground by the end of April. For ranchers, the riders can’t come soon enough with calving season underway, wolf depredations continuing and wolves getting ready to den.

The latest depredation of livestock recently confirmed on Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s wolf depredation page took place March 3 when a yearling heifer was killed in Pitkin County. There have been three wolf depredations in February and March, which previously have been quiet times for depredations.

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From wild to woof: Exploring the evolutionary divide between dogs and wolves

From Wisconsin Public Radio:

Grey wolves have lived in the northern hemisphere for hundreds of thousands of years. They are the living ancestors of today’s beloved domestic dogs.

Wolves and dogs share many similarities. However, there are a few important differences in the ways they interact with humans, said Patricia McConnell, an applied animal behaviorist who’s worked with and studied dogs for more than 25 years.

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Tiffany’s wolf delisting bill clears [U.S.] house Natural Resources Committee

From The FencePost.com:

Today, Congressman Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., and Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s, R-Colo., legislation to delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List and ensure that action is not subject to judicial review passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee. The Pet and Livestock Protection Act will restore authority back to state lawmakers and state wildlife officials to control the gray wolf population. H.R. 845 will now head to the full House of Representatives for a vote.

“The damage to pets, livestock and wildlife from an unmanaged wolf population can no longer be ignored. The gray wolf has exceeded federal and state recovery goals, with over 1,000 wolves now thriving in Wisconsin. It’s time to take the next step, delist them, and let the people closest to the gray wolf manage their population levels,” said Congressman Tiffany.

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Colossal’s de-extincted ‘dire wolf’ isn’t a dire wolf and it has not been de-extincted, experts say

From LiveScience.com:

Scientists recently revealed that they have “brought back” extinct dire wolves thanks to genetic engineering — but experts say the newly created animals are only like dire wolves in appearance.

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A “de-extinction” startup wants to save North Carolina’s red wolves from collapse

From Axios.com:

Colossal Biosciences, a Texas company attempting to bring back extinct animals such as dire wolves and woolly mammoths, believes its technology could also help endangered species, including North Carolina’s red wolves, from population collapse.

Why it matters: The red wolf, which once roamed most of the eastern and southern portions of the U.S., is one of the world’s most endangered wolves, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A little more than 200 red wolves live in captivity, but fewer than 20 exist in the wild — all in a rural five-county section of northeastern North Carolina. But their numbers continue to fall, with many being hit by cars or being shot.

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What Is a Dire Wolf? How Formerly Extinct Species Compares to Gray Wolves

From Newsweek.com:

For the first time in over 10,000 years, the howl of a dire wolf is echoing once more—this time, from within a secretive nature preserve in the United States. The predator, long thought extinct and famously mythologized in pop culture like Game of Thrones, is back, thanks to genetic engineering.

Colossal Biosciences has successfully birthed three dire wolf pups—Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi—through its “de-extinction” initiative. The project, combining ancient DNA analysis with CRISPR gene editing and modern surrogate breeding, marks a major milestone in genetic science and conservation.

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Prey size plays surprising role in competition among wolves, bears and cougars

From Phys.org:

New research from the University of Minnesota upends long-held understanding about how wolves, bears and cougars—three of Yellowstone National Park’s most iconic carnivores—compete for prey.

For years, scientists theorized that when prey becomes scarce, predators become more aggressive toward each other. It’s a straightforward theory: fewer resources and more competition suggest that dominant predators—like wolves and bears—will steal food from subordinate predators—like cougars. New findings, published in Communications Biology, reveal that the size of prey animals plays a surprisingly pivotal role in competition patterns among predators.

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Experts dispute claim dire wolf brought back from extinction

From BBC.com:

There is a magnificent, snow-white wolf on the cover of Time Magazine today – accompanied by a headline announcing the return of the dire wolf. This now extinct species is possibly most famous for its fictional role in Game of Thrones, but it did exist – more than 10,000 years ago – when it roamed across the Americas.

The company Colossal Biosciences is behind today’s headlines. It announced that it used “deft genetic engineering and ancient DNA” to breed three dire wolf puppies and to “de-extinct” the species. But while the young wolves – Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi – represent an impressive technological breakthrough, independent experts say they are not actually dire wolves.

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Increase In California Wolf Population Leads To Review Of Species’ Endangered Status

From TheTravel.com:

An increase in the California wolf population has led to a review of the species endangered status after two counties issued a State of Emergency. In Northern California, the increased wolf population is causing concern in rural communities. This has led Modoc, Sierra, and Lassen counties to reach out to state officials to help regulate the wolf populations.

While the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is reviewing the gray wolf’s endangered status in the state, it is unlikely that the status will change soon. There are far too few gray wolves in the state to do so.

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The Return of the Dire Wolf

From Time.com:

Romulus and Remus are doing what puppies do: chasing, tussling, nipping, nuzzling. But there’s something very un-puppylike about the snowy white 6-month olds—their size, for starters. At their young age they already measure nearly 4 ft. long, tip the scales at 80 lb., and could grow to 6 ft. and 150 lb. Then there’s their behavior: the angelic exuberance puppies exhibit in the presence of humans—trotting up for hugs, belly rubs, kisses—is completely absent.

They keep their distance, retreating if a person approaches. Even one of the handlers who raised them from birth can get only so close before Romulus and Remus flinch and retreat. This isn’t domestic canine behavior, this is wild lupine behavior: the pups are wolves. Not only that, they’re dire wolves—which means they have cause to be lonely.

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