From The San Bernadino Sun:
California has a growing number of gray wolves howling in the wild and have been tracked for more than a dozen years.
Gray wolves are native to California, but starting in the mid-19th century, European colonizers started hunting wolves to protect livestock. By the 1920s, wolves had been completely removed from the state. In 2011, that changed.
The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is a recovering endangered species protected under the California Endangered Species Acts and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Endangered Species Act.
In 2011, a male wolf, part of a 2009 Oregon litter and tagged OR-7, entered California and became the first wolf to enter the state since 1924. OR-7 traveled thousands of miles through California before finally settling back in Oregon with a mate. Several wolves from that pairing have migrated and settled in California.
Click here for the full story: https://www.sbsun.com/2024/11/22/here-are-the-latest-species-counts-for-californias-gray-wolf-packs/
NGOs, experts make last push to uphold wolf protection status
From Euractiv.com:
With a final decision to reduce wolf protection expected from the Bern Convention Standing Committee next week, NGOs and the international scientific community wrote to world leaders on Tuesday (26 November), urging them to reject the move, arguing that it is unlawful and not based on science.
Between 2 and 6 December, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention will decide at its 44th meeting whether to downgrade the protection status of wolves from ‘strictly protected’ to ‘protected.’
Click here for the full story: https://www.euractiv.com/section/eet/news/ngos-experts-make-last-push-to-uphold-wolf-protection-status/
Natural migration, federal protections aided Northwest Montana’s wolf recovery
From The Western News:
A female gray wolf stepped over the Canadian border and into Montana 45 years ago. Her name was Kishinena.
Kishinena weighed about 80 pounds, had a range of up to 30 miles on each side of the border north of Glacier National Park and was believed to be running with at least a few other wolves upon her crossing into the U.S.
Named after a creek in southeast British Columbia, Kishinena was the first wolf captured and collared by biologists in the North Fork of the Flathead drainage in 1979 after the species had been eradicated from the region decades prior.
Click here for the full story: https://thewesternnews.com/news/2024/nov/26/natural-migration-federal-protections-aided-northwest-montanas-wolf-recovery/
Wolf shot near Goldendale
From ColumbiaGorgeNews.com:
GOLDENDALE — On Oct. 6, Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) discovered that an adult male gray wolf was shot and killed near the intersection of Highway 142 and Glenwood Highway, just outside of Goldendale.
The wolf reportedly killed two calves on a ranch in the area, but the responsible party is still unknown. WDFW is offering a $10,000 reward for pertinent information. Call 1-844-397-8477 or fill out a form at www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips if you have any details. Callers may remain anonymous.
Click here for the full story: https://www.columbiagorgenews.com/news/wolf-shot-near-goldendale/article_2311e6e0-abf3-11ef-b26f-3fe607bfa94e.html
Wolves, elk and aspen. Scientists explore effects of predators’ reintroduction on tree growth in Yellowstone
From The Lewiston Tribune:
For more than a decade, a passionate debate has reverberated within Yellowstone National Park’s scientific community regarding wolf reintroduction. Did wolves improve aspen growth by helping to reduce elk populations, called a density-mediated indirect effect (DMIE)? Or did the mere presence of wolves make elk so nervous they didn’t eat as many aspen, or avoided areas where they may have encountered wolves, called a trait-mediated indirect effect (TMIE)?
“Scientists don’t just want to show what’s happening; we want to figure out why it’s happening,” explained Kristin Barker, research coordinator for the Beyond Yellowstone Program based in Jackson, Wyo.
Click here for the full story: https://www.lmtribune.com/outdoors/wolves-elk-and-aspen-18098366
Fierce Loyalty Of Wyoming’s Wolf Packs Make It Easier To Track Them
From Cowboy State Daily:
Wyoming has roughly 350 wolves scattered among about 30 packs, raising the question of how tracking all those wolves, packs and pack membership doesn’t turn into a muddled mess.
The short answer is the wolves themselves make it relatively straightforward. There’s hardly any movement between groups as wolves tend to live, and die, with the packs they were born into. Collar A Couple, And You Have The Pack
Click here for the full story: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/11/23/fierce-loyalty-of-wyomings-wolf-packs-make-it-easier-to-track-them/
Here are the latest species counts for California’s gray wolf packs
From The San Bernadino Sun:
California has a growing number of gray wolves howling in the wild and have been tracked for more than a dozen years.
Gray wolves are native to California, but starting in the mid-19th century, European colonizers started hunting wolves to protect livestock. By the 1920s, wolves had been completely removed from the state. In 2011, that changed.
The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is a recovering endangered species protected under the California Endangered Species Acts and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Endangered Species Act.
In 2011, a male wolf, part of a 2009 Oregon litter and tagged OR-7, entered California and became the first wolf to enter the state since 1924. OR-7 traveled thousands of miles through California before finally settling back in Oregon with a mate. Several wolves from that pairing have migrated and settled in California.
Click here for the full story: https://www.sbsun.com/2024/11/22/here-are-the-latest-species-counts-for-californias-gray-wolf-packs/
Four red wolves — ‘most endangered wolf species in the world’ — born at Missouri zoo
From MSN.COM:
The “most endangered wolf species in the world” grew by 1% this spring when four red wolf pups were born at a Missouri reserve, officials said. “When you consider how few red wolves remain, each birth is an achievement,” Sabarras George, director of the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park, said in a July 8 news release.
About 20 red wolves live in the wild today while 290 are under human care, according to the St. Louis Zoo.
The births of Otter, Molly, Finn and Obi in April and May at the St. Louis Zoo’s Wildlife Reserve in Franklin County added to the critically endangered population of American red wolves (Canis rufus), the zoo said.
Click here for the full story: https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/four-red-wolves-most-endangered-wolf-species-in-the-world-born-at-missouri-zoo/ar-BB1pDeX6?ocid=TobArticle
The gray wolf population in Wisconsin: How the Trump administration affects things
From The Hudson Star Observer:
When Donald Trump served as president the first time, he defied conservation groups and scientists warning that wolves could be slaughtered and might not survive if he stripped the animal of its endangered protection, according to the Washington Post. When he did that, he left the fate of the gray wolf in Wisconsin up to the jurisdiction of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Then, a hunt went wrong.
Click here for the full story: https://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/news/gray-wolf-population-in-wisconsin-as-trump-administration-could-change-jurisdiction/article_e76fe698-a83a-11ef-bce0-abd3c0be45e9.html
Conservation Groups and State of Montana Settle Lawsuit on Wolf Trapping Regulations
From WildEarth Guardians.org:
MISSOULA–– The Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force (Task Force) and WildEarth Guardians have reached a settlement with the State of Montana which resolves and dismisses Flathead Lolo Bitterroot Citizen Task Force et al. v. Montana. This case challenged the State of Montana’s wolf trapping regulations which the conservation groups say increases the likelihood of grizzlies being incidentally caught in traps and snares set for wolves and coyotes. The regulations extended the wolf trapping season into the time period when grizzlies are still out of the den. Grizzly bears have stepped in traps and have been injured, which constitute illegal “takings” under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Click here for the full story: https://wildearthguardians.org/press-releases/conservation-groups-and-state-of-montana-settle-lawsuit-on-wolf-trapping-regulations/
State Project To Advance Science and Management of Gray Wolves
From MyMotherLode.com:
Sonora, CA – State wildlife officials praise a new wolf project for its contributions to conflict reduction strategies for rural communities and livestock producers.
The launch of the California Wolf Project (CAWP) is a long-term partnership between UC Berkeley’s Rausser College of Natural Resources and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to advance the science and management of gray wolves in California. The project combines UC Berkeley’s expertise in ecology, sociology, economics, and environmental policy with the university’s extensive network of agency, non-profit, landowner, and tribal relationships. Tuolumne County was visited twice by a young male gray wolf in 2021, as reported here. The CAWP team uses innovative and interdisciplinary methods to gather data on wolf spatial ecology, diet, predator-prey dynamics, and recolonization within California, contributing to conflict reduction strategies for rural communities and livestock producers.
Click here for the full story: https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/3459687/state-project-to-advance-science-and-management-of-gray-wolves.html