Wolf News - June 2019

FEDERAL AGENCY HEARS TESTIMONY ON FATE OF GRAY WOLVES

June 26th, Minnesota: The Fish and Wildlife Service has made several attempts to take gray wolves off the endangered list, only to be reversed in the courts. Environmental groups have pledged another court challenge if the government proceeds. The agency will make a final decision after the public comment period closes July 15. Federal officials are weighing impassioned testimony from farmers, ranchers, hunters and wildlife advocates at the only public hearing in the country on the government's latest attempt to take gray wolves off the endangered and threatened species list.

WOLF KILLER SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY

June 26th, New Mexico: “Mia Tuk”, named by an Albuquerque schoolchild, wasn’t just hit with a shovel. Medical examinations of his body showed he was bludgeoned so hard as to shatter his lower jaw and dislocate his teeth. This evidence may contradict the killer's claim that he only acted to briefly stun it in order to safely release it from the trap.

OAKLAND ZOO SAYS NEW WOLF PUPS DOING WELL

June 25th, California: Siskiyou and Sequoia, Oakland Zoo's 6-week-old gray wolf pups were born in captivity, then relocated to the Oakland Zoo's California Trail exhibit, a 22-acre habitat for species native to California. They have emerged from their den and have begun exploring their enclosure, the zoo announced Monday.

HALF A MILLION PEOPLE URGE GOV. INSLEE TO OPPOSE WOLFE SLAUGHTER IN WASHINGTON STATE

June 24th: Over the past seven years, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has killed 22 state-endangered wolves for conflicts with livestock, 18 of which for the same livestock producer. Most killings occur on public lands. The Center for Biological Diversity submitted the signatures of 532,836 people from Washington and across the country that oppose the state’s ongoing killing of wolves for conflicts with cattle.

COLORADO QUESTION PITTING RANCHERS VS. WOLF ADVOCATES IS HEADING FOR SUPERMARKET PARKING LOTS

June 24th: The Colorado Secretary of State on Friday approved a petition seeking signatures to land a wolf reintroduction proposal on the November 2020 ballot. Wolf supporters will need 124,632 signatures by Dec. 13 to put the restoration of gray wolves before voters. Colorado is emerging as the last battleground for restoring wolf populations.

OREGON GOVERNOR: GRAY WOLVES ON 'PATH TO RECOVERY'

June 23rd: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown told reporters that she and Oregon Fish and Wildlife Director Curt Melcher have a “disagreement in philosophy” regarding whether wolves still need to be federally listed throughout the Lower 48. While Brown made clear in a letter sent recently to the Trump administration that she does not support federally delisting wolves, she also doesn’t think federal protections are still warranted in Oregon for the wolves, whose official population count in the state is at least 137.

ARIZONA GAME AND FISH MOVE TO BAN COYOTE KILLING CONTESTS

June 21st: Coyote-killing contests have drawn the ire of activists in recent years. The Oregon Legislature is considering a law banning the practice, and New Mexico's governor signed a new law banning the contests in April. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission voted Friday to ban organized contests where hunters try to kill the most coyotes or other predators for prizes like cash or hunting equipment.

PARKS CANADA CLOSELY MONITORING COLLARED BANFF WOLF

June 20th: The young gray coloured female wolf, known as No. 1904, was captured and fitted with a GPS collar in late May near Tunnel Mountain campground so her movements could be tracked, allowing Parks Canada to haze her if she comes too close to busy areas. While she hasn’t shown any signs of aggression, she shows indifference towards people, even within close range in broad daylight, and has been curious around vehicles.

COURT RULING COULD SAVE PETTING ZOO WOLVES FROM BEING KILLED FOR THEIR FUR

June 20th, Minnesota: A troubling facility in Minnesota invites visitors to play with wolf pups, but what many people may or may not realize is that once they get too big they’re killed and skinned for their fur and other parts.

NEW BILLBOARD CRITICIZES WYOMING'S WOLF MANAGEMENT POLICIES

June 20th: The image on a new billboard in Cody, Wyoming was funded and placed by Wyoming Wildlife Advocates. The goal is to educate the public about Wyoming’s wolf management policies, which Wyoming Wildlife Advocates call “outdated and anachronistic."

LAWSUIT LAUNCHED OVER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FAILURE TO UPDATE OUTDATED RED WOLF RECOVERY PLAN

June 19th: In response to a 2016 petition for a revised recovery plan filed by animal protection and conservation organizations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pledged to update the red wolf’s decades-old recovery plan by the end of last year. It has not done so. The Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife have now filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to prepare an updated recovery plan for the United States’ rapidly dwindling population of endangered red wolves.

PUP FOSTERING GIVES GENETIC BOOST TO WILD MEXICAN WOLVES

June 18th: Since 2014, 30 pups have been fostered by wild packs, another handful has been transferred among wild packs and seven were taken from the wild and reared by captive parents. U.S. officials claimed success Tuesday, saying 12 pups were placed this year with packs living in a mountainous region along the New Mexico-Arizona state line.

NEW WOLF ACTIVITY REPORTED IN THE REGION

June 18th, Oregon: The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has made changes in areas of known wolf activity in their state when two separate groups of two wolves were confirmed to be on the eastern portion of the Heppner Unit.

MEET GLORIA: ENDANGERED WOLF CENTER NAMES RARE PUP IN HONOR OF BLUES' VICTORY

June 18th, Missouri: A longtime volunteer suggested they name one of the pups Gloria in honor of the St. Louis Blues’ Stanley Cup victory. The workers and volunteers at the center figure Gloria represents victory herself, not just of the hockey kind, but of the wolf kind as well.

ICE AGE WOLF'S HEAD FOUND IN SIBERIAN PERMAFROST MAY HAVE BEEN CUT OFF BY ANCIENT HUNTERS

June 18th: The severed head was found above the Arctic Circle by local man a year ago, but was only announced by researchers studying the Ice Age mammal last week.They are now trying to find out whether the massive animal was beheaded by expanding ice or had its head cut off by ancient Man.

'PUPPY DOG EYES' EVOLVED SO DOGS COULD COMMUNICATE WITH US

June 17th: Centuries of domestication have radically reshaped a dog’s eyebrow anatomy, making their faces—and emotions—easily readable to people. The study is the latest example of how 20,000 years of cohabitation has made our pets finely tuned interpreters of human emotion—possibly more so than any other species.

RUNNING WITH WOLVES: NEW EXHIBIT AT THE LIBRARY SHOWS THE IMPORTANCE OF WOLVES IN THE WILD

June 16th, Colorado: Wolves are a vital part of many ecosystems. As such, the National Geographic exhibit “Living With Wolves” looks to educate people on the importance of wolves in nature while erasing the misconceptions of the species.

SMITH: WISCONSIN WAS HOME TO AT LEAST 914 WOLVES LAST WINTER

June 13th: The last public attitudes survey on wolves in Wisconsin was performed in 2014, when the minimum wolf count was 660. Among survey respondents in wolf range, 53% wanted wolf numbers maintained at current levels or increased in their county of residence, while 18% wanted wolves decreased and 15% wanted them eliminated.

CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY STILL UNFINISHED FOR SOME AMERICAN WOLF SPECIES

June 12th: The reintroduction of American Gray Wolves to part of their historical range has been one of the great conservation success stories in the U.S. But there are other wolf species in America, and their stories may not have a happy ending.

ARIZONA COULD BAN PREDATOR KILLING CONTESTS

June 11th: Arizona Game and Fish Commissioner Kurt Davis proposed a rule that would ban predator killing contests in Arizona. He says the premise of competing for prizes and racking up as many animals as possible seems to go against the hunting ethos.

WOLVES HAVE EXCEEDED THRESHOLD TO RESIST RISK OF EXTINCTION

June 9th, France: Eradicated in the 1930s and naturally returned to Italy in the 1990s, these wolves are concentrated in the Alps, the Southeast and the East. The increasingly important presence of the predator is resisted by the breeders who denounce the attacks against their herds.

HOWLING AT THE MOON: THE PAST AND FUTURE OF WOLVES IN EAGLE COUNTY

June 8th, Colorado: “Last Stand of the Pack” tells the dramatic stories of nine wolves, and the fierce battle between men and animals that characterized the settlement of the West. The new version of “Last Stand of the Pack: Critical Edition” includes the original text, plus additional chapters from ranchers, environmentalists and scholars offering mixed views on the topic of wolf reintroduction.The Eagle County Historical Society will host Gulliford for a talk about the history and future of wolves in Eagle County on Thursday, June 13, at the old Exhibit Hall at the Eagle County Fairgrounds.

GOVERNOR, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS RIP OREGON'S NEW WOLF PLAN

June 8th: Wolf advocates and environmentalists, railed against the new wolf plan at Friday’s commission meeting, arguing it failed to take a science-based approach to wolf attacks on cattle and sheep.

OREGON APPROVES NEW PLAN FOR GRAY WOLVES

June 8th: The Fish and Wildlife Commission vote on Friday sets the course for how the state will handle a wolf population that has increased in both numbers and territory over the past decade.

REWARD GROWS FOR WOLF POACHER

June 7th, Washington: On May 27, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists noticed that the radio collar of a female wolf was transmitting a mortality signal. A biologist investigated and found a dead wolf on Highway 20 in the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge, also in Stevens County. The reward leading to the conviction in the illegal killing of the gray wolf over Memorial Day weekend grew to $10,000 on Tuesday.

ARE WOLVES FISH FRIENDS OR FOES?

June 7th, Michigan: With a recovered population of wolves for deer and elk to fear, vegetation is allowed to grow better and improve habitat for fish. Studies show fish populations are rising there since the gray wolf population boomed in Yellowstone.

THE DEBATE IS ON: WILL WOLVES MOVE TO MICHIGAN'S LOWER PENINSULA?

June 5th: A new study says that as the Upper Peninsula reaches its carrying capacity for wolves, chances grow that some will migrate south across the frozen Straits of Mackinac. The study said the northern Lower Peninsula has enough suitable land to accommodate 50 to 100 wolves, including large swaths of public land and privately owned club properties that create a “contiguous tract of near-roadless forest.”

WILDLIFE EXPERTS FIND FAULT IN FEDERAL PLAN TO DELIST WOLVES

June 4th: Five independent wildlife experts asked to review the federal plan to remove protections for gray wolves across the U.S. say the plan is fundamentally flawed and riddled with errors.

WOLVES 'WILL KEEP DEADLY ANIMAL DISEASE FROM THE DOOR'

June 2nd, Scotland: New research suggests the alpha predator, hunted to extinction in the UK more than 300 years ago, would provide a natural defense against bovine tuberculosis (TB) by preying on carriers such as wild boar and badgers.

MY TIME WITH 'MALE911': THIS YELLOWSTONE WOLF WAS SAFE FROM PEOPLE, BUT NOT FROM NATURE

June 1st: A story by Douglas W. Smith, senior wildlife biologist at Yellowstone National Park.

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE GRADUATES SIX NEW WARDEN K-9s

June 1st: Six new K-9's graduated from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement Division K-9 Academy program and are now ready to put their skills in law enforcement and environmental protection to work. All of the dogs are trained to detect illegally taken wildlife, invasive species, hidden firearms, expended casings and other evidence or articles.