66 Very Interesting Facts About Wolves

“This is a must read for every wolf lover or those with a general interest. Having just read this myself, I thought I just had to share it! I only knew 4 or 5 facts…. it is extremely interesting & very insightful. Like, did you know that a Greek Scholar, said wolf dung could be used to treat both colic and cataracts; yuk! Did you know Wolves were once the most widely distributed land predator  …the only place they couldn’t thrive were true deserts & rainforest!! Interesting or what?? 

66  Very Interesting Facts About Wolves; I bet you didn’t know!!

1. In order for a new wolf cub to urinate, its mother has to massage its belly with her warm tongue.e
2. The Vikings wore wolf skins and drank wolf blood to take on the wolf’s spirit in battle. They also viewed real wolves as battle companions or hrægifr (corpse trolls).f
3. The earliest drawings of wolves are in caves in southern Europe and date from 20,000 B.C.b
4. Wolves do not make good guard dogs because they are naturally afraid of the unfamiliar and will hide from visitors rather than bark at them.g
5. The autoimmune disease Systemic Lupus Erythmatosus (SLE), or lupus, literally means wolf redness, because in the eighteenth century, physicians believed the disease was caused by a wolf bite.f
6. Wolves are the largest members of the Canidae family, which includes domestic dogs, coyotes, dingoes, African hunting dogs, many types of foxes, and several kinds of jackals.a
7. Wolves run on their toes, which helps them to stop and turn quickly and to prevent their paw pads from wearing down.e
8. Wolves have about 200 million scent cells. Humans have only about 5 million. Wolves can smell other animals more than one mile (1.6 kilometers) away.b
9. A wolf pup’s eyes are blue at birth. Their eyes turn yellow by the time they are eight months old.e
10. Wolves tend to mate for life
11. A male and female that mate usually stay together for life. They are devoted parents and maintain sophisticated family ties.c
12. Wolf gestation is around 65 days. Wolf pups are born both deaf and blind and weigh only one pound.d
13. Under certain conditions, wolves can hear as far as six miles away in the forest and ten miles on the open tundra.a
14. Wolves were once the most widely distributed land predator the world has ever seen. The only places they didn’t thrive were in the true desert and rainforests.e
15. Among true wolves, two species are recognized: Canis lupus (often known simply as “gray wolves”), which includes 38 subspecies, such as the gray, timber, artic, tundra, lobos, and buffalo wolves. The other recognized species is the red wolf (Canis rufus), which are smaller and have longer legs and shorter fur than their relatives. Many scientists debate whether Canis rufus is a separate species.e
16. Immense power is concentrated in a wolf’s jaw. It has a crushing pressure of nearly 1,500 pound per square inch (compared with around 750 for a large dog). The jaws themselves are massive, bearing 42 teeth specialized for stabbing, shearing, and crunching bones. Their jaws also open farther than those of a dog.g
17. The North American gray wolf population in 1600 was 2 million. Today the population in North America is approximately 65,000. The world population is approximately 150,000.b
18. A hungry wolf can eat 20 pounds of meat in a single meal, which is akin to a human eating one hundred hamburgers.b
19. A wolf pack may contain just two or three animals, or it may be 10 times as large.e
20. Though many females in a pack are able to have pups, only a few will actually mate and bear pups. Often, only the alpha female and male will mate, which serves to produce the strongest cubs and helps limit the number of cubs the pack must care for. The other females will help raise and “babysit” the cubs.a
21. Lower-ranking males do not mate and often suffer from a condition of stress and inhibition that has been referred to as “psychological castration.” Lower-ranking females are sometimes so afraid of the alpha female that they do not even go into heat.d
22. An average size wolf produces roughly 1.2 cubic inches of sperm.b
23. Wolves evolved from an ancient animal called Mesocyon, which lived approximately 35 million years ago. It was a small dog-like creature with short legs and a long body. Like the wolf, it may have lived in packs.g
24. Wolves can swim distances of up to 8 miles (13 kilometers) aided by small webs between their toes.b
25. Between 1883 and 1918, more than 80,00 wolves were killed in Montana for bounty.d
26. Adolph Hitler (whose first name means “lead wolf”) was fascinated by wolves and sometimes used “Herr Wolf” or “Conductor Wolf” as an alias. “Wolf’s Gulch” (Wolfsschlucht), “Wolf’s Lair” (Wolfschanze), and “Werewolf” (Wehrwolf) were Hitler’s code names for various military headquarters.f
27. In the 1600s, Ireland was called “Wolf-land” because it had so many wolves. Wolf hunting was a popular sport among the nobility, who used the Irish wolfhound to outrun and kill wolves. The earliest record of an Irish wolfhound dates from Roman times in A.D. 391.f
28. Recent scientists suggest that labeling a wolf “alpha” or “omega” is misleading because “alpha” wolves are simply parent wolves. Using “alpha” terminology falsely suggests a rigidly forced permanent social structure.c
29. Although wolves are usually afraid of humans, they will respond to human howls
30. Biologists have found that wolves will respond to humans imitating their howls. The International Wolf Center in Minnesota even sponsors “howl nights” on which people can howl in the wilderness and hope for an answering howl.b
31. Wolves have historically been associated with sexual predation. For example, Little Red Riding Hood, who wears a red cape that proclaims her sexual maturity, is seduced off the moral path by a wolf. The sex link endures in common clichés, such as describing a predatory man as “a wolf” or a sexy whistle as a “wolf whistle.”f
32. Biologists describe wolf territory as not just spatial, but spatial-temporal, so that each pack moves in and out of each other’s turf depending on how recently the “no trespassing” signals were posted.d
33. The Greek god Apollo is sometimes called Apollo Lykios, the wolf-Apollo, and was associated with the wind and sun. In Athens, the land surrounding the temple of Apollo became known as the Lyceum, or the “wolf skin.”f
34. In 1927, a French policeman was tried for the shooting of a boy he believed was a werewolf. That same year, the last wild wolves in France were killed.f
35. When Europeans arrived in North America, wolves became the most widely hunted animal in American history and were nearly extinct by the beginning of the twentieth century. The U.S. Federal government even enacted a wolf eradication program in the Western states in 1915.a
36. Dire wolves (canis dirus) were prehistoric wolves that lived in North America about two million years ago. Now extinct, they hunted prey as large as woolly mammoths.e
37. A wolf can run about 20 miles (32 km) per hour, and up to 40 miles (56 km) per hour when necessary, but only for a minute or two. They can “dog trot” around 5 miles (8km) per hour and can travel all day at this speed.g
38. The smallest wolves live in the Middle East, where they may weigh only 30 pounds. The largest wolves inhabit Canada, Alaska, and the Soviet Union, where they can reach 175 pounds.e
39. Wolves howl to contact separated members of their group, to rally the group before hunting, or to warn rival wolf packs to keep away. Lone wolves will howl to attract mates or just because they are alone. Each wolf howls for only about five seconds, but howls can seem much longer when the entire pack joins in.c
40. A light-reflecting layer on a wolf’s eye called the tapetum lucidum (Latin for “bright tapestry”) causes a wolf’s eyes to glow in the dark and may also facilitate night vision. While a wolf’s color perception and visual acuity maybe be inferior to a human’s, a wolf’s eyes are extremely sensitive to movement.d
41. Ravens, or “wolf-birds,” seem to form social attachments with wolves
42. Where there are wolves, there are often ravens (sometimes known as “wolf-birds”). Ravens often follow wolves to grab leftovers from the hunt—and to tease the wolves. They play with the wolves by diving at them and then speeding away or pecking their tails to try to get the wolves to chase them.g
43. In ancient Rome, barren women attended the Roman festival Lupercalia (named for the legendary nursery cave of Romulus and Remus) in the hopes of becoming fertile.f
44. According to Pliny the Elder, a first-century Greek scholar, wolf teeth could be rubbed on the gums of infants to ease the pain of teething. He also reported that wolf dung could be used to treat both colic and cataracts.f
45. The Aztecs used wolf liver as an ingredient for treating melancholy. They also pricked a patient’s breast with a sharpened wolf bone in an attempt to delay death.f
46. During the Middle Ages, Europeans used powdered wolf liver to ease the pain of childbirth and would tie a wolf’s right front paw around a sore throat to reduce the swelling. Dried wolf meat was also eaten as a remedy for sore shins.f
47. The Greeks believed that if someone ate meat from a wolf-killed lamb, he or she ran a high risk of becoming a vampire.f
48. During the reign of Edward the Confessor, which began in 1042, a condemned criminal was forced to wear a wolf-head mask and could be executed on a “wolf’s head tree” or the gallows where a wolf might be hanged next to him.f
49. Werewolf (wer “man” + wulf “wolf”) trials (which can be distinguished from witchcraft trials) led to hundreds of executions during the 1600s. Men, women, and children—many of whom were physically and mentally handicapped—were put to death.f
50. The Cherokee Indians did not hunt wolves because they believed a slain wolves’ brothers would exact revenge. Furthermore, if a weapon were used to kill a wolf, the weapon would not work correctly again.f
51. In approximately the year 800, Charlemagne founded a special wolf-hunting force, the Louveterie, which remained active until 1789. It was reactivated in1814, and the last French wolf was killed in 1927.a
52. Britain’s King Edgar imposed an annual tax of 300 wolf skins on Wales. The Welsh wolf population was quickly exterminated.a
53. In 1500, the last wolf was killed in England. In 1770, Ireland’s last wolf was killed. In 1772, Denmark’s last wolf was killed.a
54. After hearing of “frightening spirits” in the woods with human features that walked on four legs, Reverend Singh in 1920 discovered a den with two cubs and two human girls, one around age 7 or 8, the other around 2. After being brought back to “civilization,” the younger one died within a year. Recently, authors have questioned the validity of this story as modern knowledge has revealed that wolf-like behavior is often seen in autistic or abused children.d
55. Sextus Placitus, in his fifth-century B.C. Medicina de quadrupedibus (Medicinals from Animals), claims that sleeping with a wolf’s head under one’s pillow would cure insomnia.f
56. In 1934, Germany became the first nation in modern times to place the wolf under protection. Influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche’s (1844-1900) and Oswald Spengler’s (1880-1936) belief that natural predators possessed more vigor and virility than their prey, the protection was probably more for an “iconic” wolf than the actual wolf, particularly since the last wolves in Germany were killed in the middle of the nineteenth century.f
57. Wolves are one of the few animals that communicate using a great range of facial expressions
58. Unlike other animals, wolves have a variety of distinctive facial expressions they use to communicate and maintain pack unity.c
59. The Japanese word for wolf means “great god.”f
60. Between 6,000 and 7,000 wolf skins are still traded across the world each year. The skins are supplied mainly by Russia, Mongolia, and China and are used mainly for coats.a
61. In India, simple wolf traps are still used. These traps consist of a simple pit, disguised with branches or leaves. The wolves fall in and people then stone them to death.a
62. Wolves were the first animals to be placed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act list in 1973.a
63. John Milton’s famous poem “Lycidas” derives its title from the Greek for “wolf cub,” lykideus.f
64. In the Harry Potter universe, werewolf Remus Lupin’s name is directly related to the Latin word for wolf (lupus) and suggests an association with one of the founders of Rome, Remus, who was suckled by a wolf. The dual nature of Lupin’s werewolf nature suggests that in the Potter realm, there are two sides to everything.f
65. The last wolf in Yellowstone Park was killed in 1926. In 1995, wolves were reintroduced and, after just ten years, approximately 136 wolves now roam the Park in about 13 wolf packs.b
66. Currently, there are about 50,000 wolves in Canada; 6,500 in Alaska; and 3,500 in the Lower 48 States. In Europe, Italy has fewer than 300; Spain around 2,000; and Norway and Sweden combined have fewer than 80. There are about 700 wolves in Poland and 70,000 in Russia.b

— Posted November 15, 2009 “Which would mean any figures given can’t be true, numbers of wolves around the world have fallen drastically; so bear this is mind when reading figures etc.”

References

a Bailey, Jill. 2005. Animals under Threat: Gray Wolf. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library.

b Brandenburg, James and Judy Brandenburg. 2008. Face to Face with Wolves. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

c Dutcher, Jim and Jamie Dutcher. 2005. Living with Wolves. Seattle, WA: Braided River.

d Grambo, Rebecca L. 2005. Wolf: Legend, Enemy, Icon. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, Inc.

e Leach, Michael. 2003. Wolf: Habitats, Life Cycles, Food Chains, Threats. New York, NY: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers.

f Ménatory, Anne. 2005. The Art of Being a Wolf. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Books.

g Reid, Mary E. 2005. Wolves and Other Wild Dogs. Chicago, IL: World Book, Inc.

Link:–http://facts.randomhistory.com/interesting-facts-about-wolves.html

 

64 Wolves Killed In Opening Days of Hunt: Protect Red Wolves

Duluth, Minn. — Minnesota wolf hunters have killed 64 wolves as of 8 p.m. Monday in the first weekend of the state’s first regulated wolf hunt.

The DNR set a quota of 200 wolves for this first season, which runs concurrently with the deer rifle-hunting season. The opening weekend harvest is in line with the agency’s expectations, said DNR wolf expert Dan Stark.

Bryan Heiney of Duluth killed this wolf at about noon Monday, Nov. 5, 2012 in southern Koochiching County, Minn., on the third day of the state’s first wolf hunting season. (Photo courtesy of Bryan Heiney)

“Typically about 50 percent of the harvest occurs the first weekend, and that’s when most of the hunters are out there,” Stark said. “We aren’t going to know exactly until the end of the season, but it’s likely to track that pattern.”

The number of wolves killed so far in Minnesota is higher than at the beginning of other states’ hunts, Stark said. He also said the agency will survey hunters about their methods and how long they hunted. That information will be used to make any needed changes to next year’s hunt.

At the end of Monday, the DNR closed the east-central wolf hunting zone around Lake Mille Lacs where eight of the zone’s allotted nine wolves were killed over the weekend. Hunters will be able to kill another 200 wolves during a second season beginning at the end of the November. That season will include trappers as well as hunters.

News Link:-http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/11/05/environment/wolf-hunt/

Fewer than 100 Wild Red Wolves Remain in the world

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission recently approved a temporary state rule that allows the hunting of coyotes at night using spotlights, including in the area inhabited by the only wild population of red wolves, one of the world’s most endangered animals.

Take action now! Sign our petition calling on the commission to halt all coyote hunting — day or night — within the red wolf recovery area.

Red wolves once roamed most of the Southeastern United States, but harsh predator control programs and habitat loss resulted in their near elimination — and in 1980 red wolves were declared extinct in the wild.

After a small population of captive red wolves was reintroduced into the eastern part of North Carolina, the species slowly began to repopulate and today about 100 red wolves have regained a fragile foothold in the wild.

Red wolves and coyotes are similar in size, coats and coloring, so red wolves are frequently mistaken for coyotes, even in daylight. In nighttime conditions it is nearly impossible to tell them apart.

Please take this urgent action today!

At least two red wolves have already been killed within the eastern North Carolina area designated for red wolf recovery. Defenders of Wildlife has joined two other conservation organizations to file suit in the Superior Court of Wake County, North Carolina to prevent nighttime coyote hunting throughout North Carolina, including within the red wolf recovery area.

The groups have also put the North Carolina Wildlife Commission on notice that we will seek a federal enforcement action unless it stops all coyote hunting — daytime or nighttime — in the area where these critically endangered wolves live.

That’s why we need supporters like you to speak out on behalf of these wolves and tell the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to halt all coyote hunting in the red wolf recovery area!

The red wolf only exists in the state of North Carolina, and with a population so small and fragile, an increase in red wolf shooting deaths could mean they’ll never recover

Petition link:-https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2503

Tell DNR Commissioner and Min. Gov. Mark Dayton : To Stop The Nov 3rd Wolf Hunt!

“I’m posting this on behalf of my dear friend & fellow animal warrior Carol Crunkhorn. Whilst signing the following petition, Carol came across a comment which quite rightly should be shared & heard with all who are fighting for the rights of Wolves.”

“This is such an impressive plea from someone who truly is a voice for the wolves. It would be too heartbreaking to think this woman’s comments may not even be read by those who receive the petition!  For that reason, I want to share it and I hope you will all share with your friends”….Carol

18:41, Aug 26, Mrs. Louise Kane, MA

It’s impossible to express the outrage, anger and disillusionment that I experience when it comes to wolf policy in the west and midwest. Its also difficult to believe that this is 2012 in a world where entire ecosystems are disrupted and degraded by the livestock , agriculture and sports trophy hunting industries. Despite the science that shows the contributions that apex predators make within their ecosystems our state and federal governments still routinely target and kill large carnivores for suspected or real cattle and other livestock depredations.

In MInnesota this is particularly relevant as your population of wolves has been stable over the last ten years with no appreciable harm to the livestock or hunting industries. In fact these wolves illustrate that naturally occurring populations of predators do self limit without the need for trophy hunting or public trapping and snaring, which are horrifically and outrageously cruel, barbaric, and inhumane. I am quite sure you have seen these words used in the context of trapping and snaring and while they may be overused they are perhaps the most appropriate words that come to mind.

I believe as do many Americans that we need a better, more advanced and realistic approach to human predator conflicts or potential conflicts. There is no requirement or mandate in place for ranchers and livestock producers to regulate their cattle, employ predator avoidance tactics and or to retire grazing lands and permits.

Instead wolves, coyotes, bobcats, cougars and bears are routinely shot, poisoned or trapped at the behest of special interests while the rest of America sends petitions, places calls, writes letters and otherwise protests at the shortsighted policies and pandering that are passed off as “management”.

While I reside on the East Coast I am an ardent conservationist, and the not the type with a rifle in hand that only wants to see elk, deer or other ungulates roaming in our forests, rangelands and wilderness areas. Nor do I enjoy killing animals for sport and try and pass this activity off as conservation.

I have read widely on the subject of wolf reintroduction, the loophole in the ESA (section 10J) that allows for killing wolves ( even while listed), and understand the issues. I have also read most of the comments that were submitted in response to the midwest proposals as well as Idaho’s, Montana’s and Wyoming’s comments in response to their wolf management plans. I have also read the comments online submitted to the US Fish and Wildlife service in response to delisting proposals.

I am writing to you because I have seen evidence through these comments and through polls and petitions that Americans were and are against delisting wolves and hunting them for sport, they want to see wolves protected and they are largely unaware of the cruel and shoddy treatment that wolves and other carnivores receive in the west and midwestern states.

When I speak about the state “management” plans that call for killing all but 150 wolves in three of our largest states with huge tracts of federal lands, people look at me like I must have my facts wrong. When I tell people about Minnesota and that the wolves have remained stable but are now to be subjected to trapping and snaring at the behest of trophy hunters they are incredulous. Most people do not believe that trapping and snaring are legal.

The way our wildlife in America is managed is a terrible travesty. The way wolves were delisted using a sleazy non-germane rider attached to a spending bill was disgraceful and undemocratic. I can not think of anything that is more disturbing than the way wolves are being treated in the midwest and west. The states are supposed to be protecting wildlife and wolves instead of subjecting them to the whims of trophy hunters.

Its time to stand up to the livestock, agriculture and trophy hunting industries and to set a policy of no compromise when it comes to killing wolves and large apex predators. In order for the livestock , agriculture and trophy hunting industries to treat wolves with respect they must see that our state and federal agencies listen to all their constituents, they must know that Americans want our agencies to start doing the right thing, not the most politically expedient by catering to special interests that don’t represent mainstream America’s interests but whose archaic and inhumane ideas about wildlife management are implemented regardless of their effect on our earth and its ecosystems.

I am tired of watching the federal and state governments be browbeaten by these industries and tired of watching our wildlife perish in traps, snares, and being shot from helicopters or tracked by trained killers. I respectfully ask that you stop the Minnesota wolf hunt and and seek public comment from the American public on this issue.

I believe you will be dissuaded from this terrible and shortsighted decision. The states of Idaho and Montana have shown that killing wolves does nothing to appease special interests it only heightens the frenzy around killing these animals, makes wolf killing easier, and reinforces irresponsible stereotypes that need to be shelved instead of rekindled in a vicious, unproductive and destructive cycle of killing.

Louise Kane

Petition Link:-http://www.thepetitionsite.com/317/502/678/tell-dnr-commissioner-and-min-gov-mark-dayton-to-stop-the-nov-3rd-wolf-hunt/

Howling for Wolves; Help Us Howl

Have you wondered why your emails and calls to stop the senseless hunt of our iconic Minnesota wolf go unanswered?

Why does the DNR ignore the 80% of respondents in their own survey who oppose the hunt, yet extend the killing season by 25 days in response to the desires of a few in the same survey?  The rapid push to hunt the newly delisted wolf, after almost 40 years of federal investment and protection, has been stunning. Why the rush? The answer is becoming clear.

In an email dated 4/23/2012, DNR Chief of Wildlife Management Dennis E. Simon wrote, “…we owe it to our primary clients, hunters and trappers, and to livestock producers as secondary clients, to do what we can to establish a legitimate harvest opportunity now that the wolf is under our management authority.” In short, the DNR “owes” their “clients” -the special interest groups– the wolf.

Howling for Wolves gained access to this email, and more, in an earlier Government Data Practices Act request. On Monday, we served an expanded request to the DNR going back further in time and identifying specific groups and individuals. We seek answers on why the DNR rushed the process using emergency rule making, which truncated public comment.

This week we launch a major campaign to stop the hunt, before the hunt. Renewedmedia attention is on Minnesota. Tomorrow our first billboard calling to stop the hunt will go up in the Twin Cities area, with more to follow. We will add billboards across the state if we can raise more funds. This is a very expensive campaign, and we need your financial support. Donations, both large and small, will help us get more billboards up, and keep them up. All donations go straight to the purchase of more media. Please donate by either credit card or check. Checks may be sent to: Howling for Wolves, PO Box 4099, Hopkins, MN  55343

Your time, talents and energy are also needed –please volunteer! We have a very aggressive schedule planned, with a number of public actions. Please join us!

News Link:–http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=2e3fcdebee302eff62a2e3d86&id=7f71ab9d8b&e=64dccc87b9

Please sign this petition to help the wolves:–http://signon.org/sign/protect-americas-wolves?source=s.em.mt&r_by=1955801

$2,500 reward offered in investigation of possible wolf kill in northeast Oregon

Authorities are now offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information that helps catch whoever killed a an animal believed to be a wolf found in mid-March in northeast Oregon.

The Humane Society of the United States and The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust are offering the reward.

Oregon State Police are still waiting genetic tests to confirm that the animal killed in Union County was a wolf, but are investigating the case as a crime. They haven’t said how the animal died.

The 97-pound animal was discovered on private property about six miles north of Cove. It had been dead about a week. Wolves are protected by the state Endangered Species Act .

Police ask anyone with information regarding to contact Senior Trooper Kris Davis at 541-963-7175 ext. 4673 or email kris.davis@state.or.us.

News link:-http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/05/2500_reward_offered_in_investi.html

Alaska trapper shoots horse, uses it as wolf bait and snares important female wolf from Denali National Park

In an incident somewhat reminiscent of the “bad old days” of the Wild West, a trapper from Healy, Alaska apparently hauled a dead horse out to an area off the Stampede Trail near the boundary of Denali National Park – an area made famous by the 1996 book “Into the Wild” – and set snares all around the area hoping to catch wolves attracted to the carcass.

Wolves from Denali National Park were drawn to the dead horse, resulting in the killing of a primary reproductive female wolf from the Grant Creek (also called Toklat West) pack from the park, along with at least one other wolf.

It is unknown how long the two wolves were alive in the snares before being killed and collected by the trapper. In addition, the only other breeding female from the Grant Creek pack was just found dead yesterday near her den, and thus it seems certain that there will be no pups in this pack this year. The Grant Creek wolf pack has been one of the three packs most often viewed in Denali National Park.

The snares, set by Healy guide Coke Wallace, were on state lands along the north border of the national park, and within the former protected “Denali buffer” where from 2002 – 2010 trapping and hunting of wolves was prohibited to protect the park’s wolves. Ignoring several proposals and hundreds of supporting comments from citizens in 2010 to expand the no-take Denali wolf buffer zone – including a proposal from Denali National Park itself – the Alaska Board of Game instead eliminated the protective buffer altogether. At the same time, the Board also imposed a moratorium on future consideration of any Denali wolf protection buffer proposals until 2016. Some have questioned the legality of the Board restricting public process in such a way.

While the Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADFG) say the incident does not violate state law, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) is looking at potential violations of state water quality regulations, which prohibit discarding carcasses in surface waters of the state

Of concern in this incident is that the Grant Creek female was killed just after the mating season for Denali wolves (which is late February — early March), and thus it is likely that she was pregnant with what would have been a new litter of pups (perhaps this family group’s only litter), when she was killed. Last year, park service biologists observed her nursing pups at the ancient Murie den, thus she would likely have been preparing to do so again this year. As such, her death causes a significant loss of new pups/recruitment to this important pack, and thus a loss of viewing opportunities for the many thousands of visitors to the park wanting to see wolves in the wild.

The Grant Creek wolf family group (“pack”) may be one of the longest-studied vertebrate lineages in the world, dating back at least to the 1930s when Adolf Murie studied them in the park. The pack’s home territory is eastern Denali, and as it is one of the packs most viewed from the Denali park road, it is considered a high value resource for the several hundred thousand visitors that visit the park each summer (see attached photos of the Grant Creek pack from Dr. Gordon Haber)

Read the rest of this post & contact details of people in the Denali National Park area : – http://www.friendsofanimals.org/news/2012/may/alaska-trapper-shoot.html

Gray wolves at grave risk of extinction from Michigan national park as numbers dwindle to just nine | Mail Online

Gray wolves are at grave risk of extinction in a Michigan national park, scientists have warned, with just nine of the animals left and their numbers likely to dwindle. Isle Royale National Park’s gray wolves are at their lowest ebb in more than half a century, and could die out within just a few years. Only one of the nine wolves still wandering the wilderness island chain in western Lake Superior is known to be female, raising doubts that the animals will bounce back from a recent free-fall.

They are at grave risk of extinction unless people lend a hand, wildlife biologist Rolf Peterson and John Vucetich from Michigan Tech University have warned in a report.

The dramatic drop in numbers seems to have been caused by a run of bad luck, rather than one single catastrophe.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2115786/Gray-wolves-grave-risk-extinction-Michigan-national-park-numbers-dwindle-just-nine.html#ixzz1pMg57gB6

via Gray wolves at grave risk of extinction from Michigan national park as numbers dwindle to just nine | Mail Online.

Animals Petition: Stop the senseless killing of wolves in Idaho | Change.org

Why This Is Important

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game confirmed the state is moving forward as soon as weather permits with plans to kill as many as two thirds of the wolves in the Lolo District of Clearwater National Forest – possibly leaving only 25 or 30 wolves in the district in a misguided attempt to increase elk numbers for hunter harvest

via Animals Petition: Stop the senseless killing of wolves in Idaho | Change.org.