Wolf News - March 2020

GO MAKE BABIES! NEW RED WOLF PAIR RELEASED AT ALLIGATOR RIVER NWR

March 31st, North Carolina: A pair of red wolves, one recently moved from Florida to North Carolina and the other a resident female, have been released from their acclimation pens in hopes of creating a breeding pair.

FARM BUREAU: WDFW SHOULD LET RANCHERS SEE WHERE WOLVES ARE

March 31st: Washington ranchers in wolf country should get GPS-collar data, rather than depend on state wildlife managers to tell them where dens are in the spring and early summer, a state Farm Bureau official said Tuesday at a meeting of Fish and Wildlife’s Wolf Advisory Group.

THE KILLING OF TAKAYA, CANADA’S FAMOUS LONE WOLF, HIGHLIGHTS URGENT NEED TO OUTLAW TROPHY HUNTING

March 30th: The killing last week of Takaya, the lone wolf of Canada’s Discovery Island whose story of survival and resilience captivated people around the globe, is a grim reminder of the uphill battle wolves face in the modern world.

CANADA MOURNS TAKAYA - THE LONE WOLD WHOSE SPIRIT CAPTURED THE WORLD

March 27th: The life – and this week’s sudden death – of the legendary wolf shone a light on the often-strained bond between humans and wild animals

COYOTES ARE BEING SEEN ON THE EMPTY STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO

March 27th: While anxious residents are eager to see the end of the stay-at-home order, after waiting in the wings, our wild canine friends are apparently making the most of their opportunity to claim back the city.

A NATURAL CLASSROOM, RUN BY WOLVES

March 27th: Thanks largely to the wolf’s reintroduction into Yellowstone, their reputation has swung from scourge to savior, at least among some, as biologists have come to understand the wolves’ role in maintaining the park’s ecological balance. Reintroducing the wolf to Yellowstone is arguably the world’s greatest wildlife experiment.

FAMOUS LONE WOLF KILLED BY HUNTER IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

March 26th: The wolf, dubbed Takaya by researchers, which inspired a television documentary broadcast last year, was shot and killed by a hunter near Shawnigan Lake on Tuesday.

CELEBRATE LOBO WEEK WITH HOPE FOR MEXICAN GRAY WOLVES

March 26th: The Mexican gray wolf, one of the world’s rarest land mammals, is making a comeback in the wild!

YELLOWSTONE'S WOLVES 25 YEARS AFTER REINTRODUCTION: SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION

March 24th: Twenty-five years later, wolf reintroduction remains controversial with lasting ramifications for people, livestock and nature. Some claim wolves have effected a remarkable, almost mythical rejuvenation of the landscape; others see only an apocalypse.

RECORD NUMBER OF WOLVES TAKEN ON PRINCE OF WALES

March 23rd: Trappers reported taking almost as many wolves as had estimated to live on and around Prince of Wales Island.

COLORADO HAS WOLVES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES, BUT THE BIG QUESTION IS: ARE THEY BREEDING?

March 22nd: Now that a pack of wolves has been confirmed in Colorado for the first time in decades, could the state also have it's first breeding pair?

RISING MEXICAN GRAY WOLF POPULATION THREATENS SOUTHWEST CATTLE RANCHERS

March 21st: After nearly reaching the point of extinction, the Mexican gray wolf population in the U.S. has rebounded, up nearly 25% in 2019.

BRINGING THE WOLVES BACK

March 21st: As our species takes its terrifying plunge into the unknown, things are looking up for a few other species.

ESCAPED WOLVES EUTHANIZED

March 19th: On Monday, March 16, two gray wolves escaped their enclosure at the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WV DNR) State Wildlife Center in French Creek, WV. Agency staff and local law enforcement responded to the incident. In the interest of public safety, a decision was made to euthanize the animals after attempts at recapture failed.

MEXICAN GRAY WOLF NUMBERS JUMPED TO 163 IN 2019

March 18th: In 24% Increase, 32 Additional Wolves Now Roaming Arizona, New Mexico

MEXICAN GRAY WOLF NUMBERS IN THE US SOARED IN 2019

March 18th: More pups were born and survived in the wild.

IDAHO BOARD GETS $400,000 TO KILL PROBLEM WOLVES

March 18th: Legislation sending just under $400,000 to a state board to use to kill problem wolves in Idaho headed to the governor's desk on Wednesday.

ENDANGERED GRAY WOLF POPULATION ON THE RISE IN SOUTHWEST US

March 18th: At least 163 wolves were counted during the recent survey. That marks a nearly 25% jump in the population from the previous year and puts wildlife managers about half way to meeting the goal that has been set for declaring the species recovered.

IDFG REMOVES 17 WOLVES IN LOLO ELK ZONE, NORTH OF HIGHWAY 12

March 17th: Idaho Fish and Game has concluded wolf control actions done during February that removed 17 wolves in the Lolo elk zone north of Highway 12.

N.W.T. WOLF CULL PLAN THAT INCLUDES SHOOTING FROM AIRCRAFT APPROVED

March 17th: The Northwest Territories government has been authorized to proceed immediately with a plan that includes using satellite collars and shooting from aircraft to cut wolf populations by up to 80 per cent.

STATEMENT ON WASHINGTON'S UPCOMING 2019 MINIMUM WOLF COUNT

March 17th: Washington state’s confirmed minimum wolf population count as of the end of 2019 is expected to be released in early April 2020. Conservation northwest released the following perspectives in advance of the count. More information will be provided in a statement following the Washington department of fish and wildlife’s release of the count in April.

IDAHO KILLS 17 WOLVES ON PUBLIC LANDS TO BOOST ELK NUMBERS FOR HUMAN HUNTERS

March 16th: History tells us that the Lolo elk population dropped to historically low levels before wolves were restored to the region in the mid-1990s. So, in an effort to boost elk numbers for human hunters, Idaho is scapegoating wolves and ignoring the many factors that affect elk population including human activities, weather, disease, and wildfire.

BEEF MARKET FALLS VICTIM TO VIRUS, OCA LEADER SAYS

March 16th, Oregon: The beef market, beef prices, carbon emissions and wolves were the main subjects of a presentation given by Tom Sharp at the March 11 Douglas County Livestock Association’s Spring Conference.

BEAUPREZ: FORCED WOLF INTRODUCTIONS HARMFUL TO RURAL COLORADO

March 16th: Colorado: Guest Editorial. "For over a thousand years, the tale of Little Red Riding Hood has taught children and adults that wolves can’t be trusted. They are cunning, vicious apex predators at the top of the food chain that have even taken down grizzly bears and mountain lions in Yellowstone. Is this really what we want in Colorado? I don’t think so."

Note from Apex: This commentary was written by a Colorado congressman and bison rancher in Colorado. Although sprinkled with facts, it is the author's biased perspective.

IN WASHINGTON, ANNUAL WOLF COUNT SETS POLICY FOR THE COMING YEAR

March 15th: Ben Maletzke, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s statewide wolf specialist, is gathering information that will be used to create the annual wolf population report released in April. It’s a hotly anticipated piece of research that occasionally draws criticism from those who believe it either undercounts or overcounts the number of wolves.

FLEMISH GOVERNMENT EXTENDS PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR WOLVES

March 13th: The Flemish minister for nature, Zuhal Demir (N-VA) is to amend the provisions of the government’s nature decree to allow more protection for the region’s wolves.

COURT WIN: USE OF M-44 'CYANIDE BOMBS' HALTED IN IDAHO

March 11th, Idaho: In a key victory for wildlife, conservation groups finalized an agreement today that sets strict limits on how and where a federal agency can kill wolves in Idaho, bans the use of M-44 “cyanide bombs” statewide, and prohibits the use of snares to kill wolves on public lands.