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Archive for October 23rd, 2011

Victory! California City Unanimously Votes to End Coyote Trapping

Posted in Uncategorized on October 23, 2011| Leave a Comment »


October 14, 2011

“The city of Calabasas, California, in Los Angeles County, prides itself on being an environmentally-conscious community. So when resident Randi Feilich Hirsch pointed out that the city’s contract with Los Angeles County to trap and kill coyotes was not only inhumane but threatened to upset the ecological balance of the area, officials took notice. City council suspended all coyote trapping to review the issue.

That was back in July. Now, three months later, Calabasas City Council has made the ban on coyote trapping permanent and adopted a model plan for coexistence.

Feilich Hirsch wasn’t alone in this battle. As the Southern California Representative for Project Coyote, she had the organization and its expertise behind her. Project Coyote, working with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), started a campaign on Change.org to build public support for ending the city’s coyote killing policy. By the time city council voted, the groups had more than 9,000 people backing them up.

(more…)

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Wolf confirmed in Harney County, multiple wolves possible in Ochocos

Posted in Wolf Current Events on October 23, 2011| Leave a Comment »


Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

“A gray wolf dispersing from the Imnaha pack in Wallowa County has been confirmed in Harney County. Over the past week or so it came down from the Strawberry Mountains and through the Silvies Valley, keeping to the more forested and vegetated sections of the national forest lands. It moved in a straight, deliberate line as wolves do when they are intent on serious long-distance travel. For the past few days it has been hanging around west of Burns, mainly on private ranch land. The wolf has a GPS collar so its location information can be downloaded periodically via satellite.

OR-3, the dispersing Imnaha wolf that was located in the Ochoco Mountains last month is still believed to be in the area. At least one person has reported seeing it, but as of last week efforts by US Fish and Wildlife biologists to find it during ground searches have been unsuccessful.

Because the Ochoco wolf, which has a VHF radio collar emitting radio signals allowing it to be tracked, has been moving fairly slowly since it left its home pack and has been lingering for long periods of time in small areas before moving on, biologists are speculating that it might indicate he is traveling with another wolf or wolves. However, it must be emphasized that is only speculation at this point based on OR-3’s behavior and multiple wolves would need to be seen by a reliable observer or multiple wolf tracks found to make a confirmation.

The Imnaha wolf that dispersed into Idaho earlier this year had its radio collar signal detected north of Weiser in late July.

 The photo accompanying this post is of OR-3, currently a resident of the Ochoco Mountains. Photo by ODFW.”

*Special thanks to Oregon Wildlife News and Views for providing this information (http://sneakcat.blogspot.com/2011/10/wolf-confirmed-in-harney-county.html)

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In the Press: Wolves released in Mexico mountains near Arizona

Posted in Wolf Current Events, Wolf Preservation Efforts on October 23, 2011| 1 Comment »


Arizona Daily Star, October 18, 2011 (posted 10/19/11) Show support with a letter to the editor!

Tim Steller

“Mexican officials have released five wolves in the Sierra San Luis mountains of northeastern Sonora, a Mexican environmental group said in a news release.

The wolf release occurred Oct. 11, the group Naturalia said. It gave no specific information about where the release occurred, but that mountain range abuts the New Mexico and Arizona borders with Sonora and ends about 80 miles south of the international border at Douglas.

The release came after years of planning by Mexican officials and opposition by U.S. ranchers, who are worried the wolves will cross into the United States and be completely protected from capture or killing.

Environmental groups have said they hope the wolves cross into the U.S. and mix with wolves living in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona.

Please write a letter to the editor celebrating this historic accomplishment!!  
Letters can be submitted to: letters@azstarnet.com.

Tips for your letter:
* Keep it short, no more than two or three paragraphs.
* Start by thanking the paper for their story and tie your letter to the article.
* Write from your own experience, in your own words. Talk about why Mexican wolves are important to you.

* Some talking points you could include are:
* With only around 50 Mexican gray wolves in the wild, new releases are critically important to increase the size and genetic health of the wild population.
* Mexico, along with Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas, is part of the Mexican wolf’s historic range.
* True recovery of these highly endangered wolves requires several populations that have connectivity; this release in Mexico is a critical step towards making this happen.
* The wolves reintroduced in Mexico should receive full endangered species protections and not be restricted in their movements by arbitrary boundaries.”

**Special thanks to “Lobos of the Southwest” for providing this information! Check them out at:  http://www.mexicanwolves.org/index.php/news/553/51/In-the-Press-Wolves-released-in-Mexico-mountains-near-Arizona

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Wolf Park Mourns Loss of Founder

Posted in Wolf Current Events on October 23, 2011| 3 Comments »


“All the members of the Wolf Park community are in mourning today after the loss of the Park’s founder, Dr. Erich Klinghammer.  He passed away the morning of October 6, at  Lafayette’s  IU Health Arnett Hospital, at the age of 81.   Dr. Klinghammer had suffered from polycystic kidney disease for much of his adult life, and had been on dialysis for 12 years.

As a professor of ethology at Purdue University, Dr. Klinghammer started Wolf Park in 1972 using his own property, and his personal funds to create the 75 acre facility outside Battle Ground, Indiana. With the support of many who donated both their valuable time and money, the Park has grown and thrived.  As a 501 ( c ) 3 non-profit organization, it now maintains a Board of Directors, staff of eight, and dozens of volunteers who do the work to keep the organization strong.

Dr. Klinghammer is well known for his study of wolf behavior, contributions to the process of socializing captive wolves, and his English translation of the sixteen-volume Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia.  A native of Germany, he came to the U.S. after World War II, attended the University of Chicago, and became a professor at Purdue University in the 1960s.

The passing of Dr. Klinghammer leaves hundreds or perhaps thousands of people saddened, those whose lives he touched.  But they are also ready to carry on the Park’s mission and to carry this passion for wolf advocacy and education into the future.  This will mean that Dr. Klinghammer’s legacy will be ensured for generations to come.
A viewing and funeral service will be held on Sunday, October 9 at the
Soller Baker Funeral Home in West Lafayette, Indiana.  The viewing is
4-7 pm, and the service 7-8 pm, Eastern Daylight Time.

The Park is planning an event celebrating Dr. Klinghammer’s memory,
but the date has not been set.  It will probably be sometime in
November.”

**Special thanks to Wolf Park for providing this information (http://blog.wolfpark.org/?p=522)

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