Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for November, 2011

“Living With Wolves” Review

Posted in Wolves and educational activities on November 27, 2011| 4 Comments »


 
“Who is really the predator?

This was the question that kept flashing through my mind as I watched Living With Wolves, an Emmy-nominated film about the experiences of filmmakers Jamie and Jim Dutcher as vividly share their remarkable experiences living with the wolves of the Sawtooth Wolf Pack over the period of six extraordinary years.

Wolves have long been and continue to be characterized as vicious beasts, relentless predators, a threat to humanity and even worse. Children’s stories, movies, songs and the news media have all portrayed wolves in a negative light. It would seem that only small pockets of humanity have bothered to look past the media portrayals and to search for the truth about wolves.

Jim Dutcher, a veteran documentarian and longtime explorer of the animal kingdom, is a remarkable cinematographer because his images aren’t just about staging romanticized views of the wolves but actually achieving a level of intimacy in their lives. Living With Wolves is one of the most remarkable and intimate films ever created about wolves, a film that reveals the unique social structure of the wolf pack, the ways that wolf cubs are raised within that social structure and, with remarkable honesty, how wolves interact with fellow creatures and with humanity.

There is, of course, a disclaimer that must be acknowledge when viewing Living With Wolves. The Sawtooth Wolf Pack was a human initiated wolf pack, a pack essentially planted by Dutcher within a confined area and with an initial wolf that had already experienced, at least to a degree, the human experience. So, as a scientific experiment, it is important to note that this wolf pack is not a truly “wild” pack.

That said, Dutcher’s footage is not only beautiful to behold but groundbreaking in the ways in which it shatters the image of wolf as predator and instinctively a killer. Jim Dutcher establishes a remarkable relationship with these wolves, not just the ones that he bottle fed as puppies but the ones with whom he planted the wolf pack and who’d experienced the wild. While even the staunchest wolf advocates would be unlikely to recommend initiating such encounters with wolves, the simple fact that Dutcher was able to live among them peacefully should, for any reasonable person, help to tear down the stereotypes of wolves that have existed for far too long.

There are scenes, many of them, that are simply breathtaking in their beauty and awe-inspiring in the ways that they capture wolf and man co-existing. There is one scene, in particular, where Jamie is so trusted by a mother wolf that she is permitted inside a wolf den to check on newborns. Amazing.

There is no question that Living With Wolves will have its naysayers, those who question the legitimacy of Dutcher’s claims and the wisdom of his assertions. It isn’t so much that Dutcher is trying to romanticize the wolf, but simply trying to tear down their reputation for being evil creatures. Narrated by Liev Schreiber and beautifully photographed by Dutcher himself, Living With Wolves captures the wild and playful, tender and loyal, caring and utterly remarkable world of the Sawtooth Wolf Pack.”

**Special thanks to Richard Propes of The Independent Critic  (http://www.theindependentcritic.com/living_with_wolves) for writing this review!

Read Full Post »

A Nordisk Film Release: Wolf Summer is a winner!

Posted in Wolves and educational activities on November 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »


The young Norwegian girl Kim almost gets killed after falling from a hillside. She finds shelter and stumbles upon the territory of a wolf and her puppy. As time passes she finds the wolf less and less frightening. When she finds out three shepherds are out to kill the wolf, she decides to get across the border to Sweden, where they don’t hunt for wolves.

Please note for sensitive children: the film contains scenes with hunters and guns, and some animal carcasses are shown.

The following review is from Madeleine Wolf, 18, of Ridgefield, CT

The movie Wolf Summer is a heart-warming film filled with acts of bravery for beautiful creatures of nature. It is packed with adventure as the viewer is taken on the main character’s journey and mission to save her wolf friends. The story is an inspiring one that touches the heart, and quenches a thirst for suspense and action. The film conveys all of these features through a low key story.

When her summer plans fall through, Kim, a determined young girl of 11 sets out to match her dead father’s age record for climbing a treacherous face known as the East Wall. A fall changes her course, and she embarks on a mission to save a wounded wolf and her pup from hunters. Wolf Summer is a heart-warming film filled with acts of courage and devotion. Dramatically understated, it has a pervasive peace which balances the suspense and action, and the natural scenery provides a beautiful backdrop for the film. There is nothing pretentious about this movie, and despite the incredible story, it makes the character of Kim and the series of events totally believable. This is a fresh and honest movie which can inspire all ages.”

Awards

•Winner of the 2003 Amanda Awards, Norway for Best Children’s or Youth Film
•Winner of the Cinekid 2003 Audience Award
•Winner of the 2003 Prize of the Children’s Jury of the Lübeck Nordic Film Days
•Nominated for the 2003 Starboy Award at the Oulu International Children’s Film Festival

Check out a preview of the film through the link below!

<iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/31623391?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0” width=”400″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″ webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/31623391″>Wolf Summer</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user6627561″>Kidflix Global</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>

**Special thanks to “Kidflix Global” for providing this information! (http://vimeo.com/31623391)

Read Full Post »

Why do people yearn to possess wolves and other wild animals?

Posted in Wolf Current Events on November 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »


**Special thanks to Ray Ring, November 14th 2011 issue of High Country News website) for providing this information!  After reading his comments, please share what you think about ownership of wolves and wild animals!

“I’m hazy about some of the details, because it happened about 25 years ago, but the essence of what I saw is seared into my mind.

As I was driving cross-country on a lonesome two-lane through New Mexico desert, I came upon a forlorn-looking roadside zoo. I saw the sign, felt curious, pulled into the gravel parking lot, and paid to enter what was basically a repurposed mobile home.

There were a few wild animals in a row of concrete-floored cages. I walked along those cages, peering in at their occupants as they peered back at me. I remember a coyote, maybe a wolf, and a bobcat or a mountain lion.

What I’ll never forget is the gut-level experience of seeing all that wildness confined in cramped spaces. And the despair in the animals’ eyes — I don’t think it was my imagination.

I hadn’t thought much about wild animals in captivity before that experience. Like most other people, I’d visited municipal zoos and circuses to see the usual array of elephants and tigers, mostly when I was a kid. But since that roadside zoo, I’ve sought out operations that feature wild animals, to learn more about the conditions they’re kept in and the people who are involved. I’ve paid to see captive wolves and elk in Idaho, captive grizzly bears in Montana, a roadside bird zoo in Utah, the touristy Reptile Gardens in South Dakota, even visited a 7,559-foot-altitude hot-spring oasis in Colorado’s San Luis Valley where alligators are raised. There seems to be no limit to the human desire to possess, exhibit and traffic in wild creatures, including exotic pets.

The more I learn, the more I wonder: What the heck are we doing with these animals, and why? Our cover story examines a particularly Western aspect of this phenomenon: captive wolves. The writer, Ceiridwen Terrill, a college professor in Portland, Ore., spent five years visiting captive-wolf operations around the West. She also draws from her personal experience with the wolf-dog hybrid she tried to raise. Some of the details she’s dug up might disturb you, yet she still manages to give the people she met a measure of respect.

Elsewhere in this issue, HCN editorial fellow Nathan Rice looks for grizzly bears in northwest Washington’s Cascade Range. Are there any still out there, and if there are, how should we handle their management? On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be much in common between the wild animals we hold in cages and the ones we manage in their natural habitat. And yet in some important ways they’re akin. If we actually find any Cascade grizzlies, we’ll capture them to put radio collars on them and track their movements obsessively. There’s also talk of transplanting grizzlies into the Cascades. We can’t seem to stop manipulating wild animals to suit our own goals. Is that just another way of trying to possess the wild? Let us know what you think.”

Read Full Post »

Tell Idaho Fish and Game That You Oppose Leg Hold Traps Now Being Used to Kill Wolves

Posted in Wolf Preservation Efforts on November 19, 2011| 7 Comments »


“TELL IDAHO FISH AND GAME THAT YOU OPPOSE LEG HOLD TRAPS NOW BEING USED TO KILL WOLVES. HERE’S HOW!

Statements expressing opposition to the leg hold trap need to be sent to Idaho Department of Fish and Game commissioners. Please allow me the honor of making your advocacy easy with these simple steps:

1. Copy and paste the text below onto a blank email page. …

2. Add or change text to suit your view or style.

3. Sign your name.

4. Copy and paste the email address to the send line.

5. Type “Leg hold trap” on the subject line.

6. Hit the send button. Chairman Tony McDermott Panhandle Region Commissioner Idaho Department of Fish and Game P.O. Box 25 Boise, ID 83707 mcmule@msn.com Dear Chairman McDermott: I am writing to express opposition to the employment of the leg hold trap in Idaho. This trap – – which requires no warning sign – – inflicts inescapable pain and suffering to any child, hiker, dog, wolf, cat or other creature whose foot lands upon it. Because leg hold traps can only be opened by bolt cutters, rendering aid to a trapped victim is almost impossible. I urge you to take action to restrict use of this trap as soon as possible. Thank-you for your time and attention in this important matter.

Sincerely…”

**Special thanks to “Wolf Watcher” (https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000108981258) for providing this information!

Read Full Post »

Arizona organization protects ‘canned’ hunting

Posted in Uncategorized on November 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »


According to Wikipedia, “A canned hunt is essentially a trophy hunt in which the animal is kept in a more confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill. According to one dictionary, a canned hunt is a “hunt for animals that have been raised on game ranches until they are mature enough to be killed for trophy collections.”

Please contact the Arizona Governor about your objections! ( http://www.governor.state.az.us/Contact.asp)

PHOENIX (KPHO) –

“A hunting organization based in Arizona is under fire for defending a controversial type of hunting that is against the law in Arizona.

Records show the Safari Club International has lobbied Congress and spoken out against bills that would make the practice of hunting exotic game in fenced-in preserves illegal. The organization also accepts trophies from these operations in its prestigious record books.

Safari Club officials deny they support captive or “canned” hunting.

“We don’t defend captive hunting. Safari Club International supports preserve or estate hunting,” said Dr. Larry Rudolph, who is the chief communications officer for the Safari Club.

Rudolph told CBS 5 News the type of operations his organization supports allow animals a fair chance to escape from the hunters.

But the Humane Society of the United States disagrees.

“The basic premise is animals trapped within a fenced enclosure from which they cannot escape, then people go in and pay a fee to kill those animals,” said Andrew Page, who is the senior director of the Humane Society’s wildlife abuse campaign.

“You can kill a zebra. You can kill and ibex, an oryx, a black buck antelope. These are animals that are indigenous to Africa or Asia, but they’re bred here in the U.S. for this kind of activity,” said Page.

According to the Humane Society’s own investigation, many of the animals used in canned hunts come from private breeders and zoos.

The practice is against the law or severely restricted in 25 states, including Arizona. Of the estimated 1,000 canned hunting ranches in the United States, roughly half are located in Texas.

“We don’t know exactly where those animals go once they enter the state, but we know they don’t leave. And they’re usually the animals of the huntable variety. The big horns or big antlers. The ones that guys like to hang on their walls to show off to their friends,” said Page.

Hidden camera video obtained by the Humane Society shows a hunter with little apparent skill shooting a small ram with a bow and arrow. It takes several minutes for the ram to die, with arrows sticking out of its back, through its hind leg and rear. Finally, someone from off camera shoots the ram but fails to strike the animal in the head, which would have killed it instantly. The hunt took place in a fenced pasture.

Additional video shows a ranch hand talking about tranquilizing animals so hunters can shoot them more easily.

Safari Club officials say they are not to blame for this type of hunting. They point out that ethical hunting lodges actually breed and keep species alive, which are otherwise endangered and extinct in the wild.

“It provided them a possible way where they have grown, thrived and are now expanding in many parts of the country,” said Rudolph.

Nearly two dozen members of Congress have co-sponsored a bill known as the Sportsmanship in Hunting Act, which would make it illegal to transport exotic species between states for the purposes of hunting. The Safari Club is registered to lobby on that bill.”

**Special thanks t0 Morgan Loew  http://www.kpho.com/story/16022205/arizona-organization-protects-canned-hunting#.TsAPh0ukflQ.facebook for providing this information.  WARNING:  the video through this link is graphic but shows the true nature of “canned hunting.”

Read Full Post »

Advocates seek stop to Idaho, Montana wolf hunts

Posted in Wolf Current Events, Wolf Preservation Efforts on November 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »


PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — “Wildlife advocates appeared in federal court Tuesday seeking to stop gray wolf hunts that are already well under way in the Northern Rockies, arguing that Congress overstepped its authority in stripping federal protections from the canines.

Federal biologists say the wolf population is healthy enough to support the hunts in Idaho and Montana. The two states want to drive down the predators’ numbers to curb their attacks on livestock and big game herds.

But wildlife advocates say too many wolves are being shot too quickly, threatening to unravel the species’ decades-long recovery and killing animals closely followed by wolf watchers.

Almost 170 wolves have been shot since hunting began in late August.

“The longer the hunting season goes on, the more risk to the population in total,” said James “Jay” Tutchton, an attorney who spoke on behalf of WildEarth Guardians, one of the groups that sued Interior Secretary Ken Salazar after wolves lost their federal protections.

The hunts were allowed after Congress last spring took the unprecedented step of stripping endangered species protections from more than 1,300 wolves. That prompted a lawsuit from wildlife advocates who say Congress effectively reversed prior court rulings that favored protections for the animals.

Tuesday’s hearing was before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, Calif.

The 9th Circuit agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis. But several groups involved in the lawsuit requested an injunction to stop the killing of wolves while the case is pending. It is not clear when a decision will be issued, though two previous requests for injunctions were denied.

Anna M. Seidman, with Safari Club International, said hunters are being careful and do not want to see wolves returned to the endangered species list. Seidman’s group, along with the National Rifle Association and other sporting groups, have intervened in the case on the side of the federal government.

“Hunters are conservationists,” she said. “The whole idea behind hunting is sustainable use to make sure they’re here now and remain there for many generations.”

Tuesday’s hearing marks the latest in two decades of courtroom battles over wolves. Gray wolf advocates, including members of Shadowland Foundation, stood outside the courthouse carrying signs saying “We love wolves” and even brought two pet wolves.

Prior lawsuits resulted first in the animals’ reintroduction to the region and then later kept them on the endangered list for a decade after the species had reached the government’s original recovery goal.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is monitoring the hunts, but agency officials said they have no plans to intervene because wolves have recovered in the region and the states have promised to manage them responsibly.

Montana’s quota aims to reduce wolf numbers by 25 percent compared with last year, to 425 animals. Bob Lane, chief legal counsel for the state, said wildlife officials “fully intend to manage them as a viable species.”

Idaho officials have said only that they plan to maintain at least 150 wolves, out of a current population of at least 700 animals.

So far this year, wolves in Montana and Idaho have killed 152 cattle and calves, 108 sheep, 12 dogs and three horses, according to confirmed kill tallies provided by state and federal officials.

Even without hunting, wolves are shot regularly in the region in response to livestock attacks. At least 103 of the predators had been killed this year by government wildlife agents and ranchers.

Federal officials have pledged to step in to restore endangered species protections if wolf numbers drop below 100 animals in either state.

Attorneys for the federal government said that safety valve undercuts the plaintiffs’ contention that the hunts could cause irreparable harm.

In documents filed with the court in advance of Tuesday’s hearing, the government attorneys wrote that an injunction would be an extraordinary step for the court to take and that the plaintiffs “come nowhere close to meeting the test.”

They also argued that Congress was within its bounds to act on the issue, because lawmakers were told by government scientists that wolves were biologically recovered.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead recently struck a deal with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that could allow wolf hunting in that state by sometime next year.

Legislation introduced by Wyoming’s congressional delegation could speed up that process, in the same way as the budget bill rider that lifted protections for wolves in Idaho and Montana.

But Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director for one of the litigants, the Center for Biological Diversity, called it a “terrible precedent” in which politicians instead of scientists make decisions about endangered animals.

“It sets this precedent where Congress shows they’re capable and willing to step in when a species becomes politically unpopular in a particular state,” he said.”

**Special thanks to By MATTHEW BROWN and NOAKI SCHWARTZ – Associated Press | AP – Tue, Nov 8, 2011 for providing this information (http://news.yahoo.com/advocates-seek-stop-idaho-montana-wolf-hunts-220628246.html)

Read Full Post »

State must stop wolf slaughter, stop calling it “harvest”

Posted in Wolf Current Events on November 13, 2011| 2 Comments »


Mary Fay of Helena, sounds off!

“Where’s the outrage?

As Montanans, we continue to sit back, saying and doing nothing to save hundreds of wolves from being indiscriminately shot and killed.

Does it make sense that we are slaughtering 244 wolves for the deaths of 200 cows? Does it make sense that we are killing wolves that were not involved in those predations? Does it make sense that we are killing wolves when elk herds are not being negatively impacted and considered healthy in most areas of Montana? Does it make sense to extend the season to kill these wolves, not knowing how it will impact their social structure and may increase the predation on livestock?

It is outrageous that public officials and news media insist on calling the slaughter of this important predator species, “harvesting.” Animals are not crops. They have beating hearts. Indiscriminate killing creates chaos for this social pack animal. Using the word “harvest” softens the ugly truth about killing an animal that successfully lived on this landscape long before man came along and decided it needed to be exterminated from the face of the earth.

Please contact Fish, Wildlife and Parks and insist they stop the killing. Their “management plan” is not scientifically based, rather it reflects ignorance and a long-standing bias against predators.”

Mary Fay, Helena

Special thanks to Missoulian News for providing this information: http://missoulian.com/news/opinion/mailbag/state-must-stop-wolf-slaughter-stop-calling-it-harvest/article_80bd2104-0a7d-11e1-bedd-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1dbQjpMR6

Read Full Post »

Posted in Uncategorized on November 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »


 

Wolf Preservation recognizes and thanks “The Animal Rescue Site” for being on the front lines to help animals in desperate need.  Please visit their site and help donate to a worthy cause simply by signing petitions, send e-cards, and purchase items from their gift shop. 

“The Animal Rescue Site provides simple, effective, feel-good ways to address an urgent, specific need: providing food and vital care for some of the eight million unwanted animals given to shelters every year in the U.S., as well as animals in desperate need around the world. Over four million animals are put to death every year in the U.S. alone because they are abandoned and unwanted. Thank you for your caring online actions. Each click on the purple “Click Here to Give – it’s FREE” button at The Animal Rescue Site provides food and care for a rescued animal living in a shelter or sanctuary. Funding for food and care is paid by site sponsors and distributed to animals in need at the Fund for Animals’ renowned animal sanctuaries, pet shelters supported by the Petfinder Foundation, North Shore Animal League America, amazing International Fund for Animal Welfare programs that save animals in dire situations worldwide, Rescue Bank, and other worthy animal care facilities and programs supported by the GreaterGood.org foundation. 100% of sponsor advertising fees goes to our charitable partners.

 The Animal Rescue Site is owned and operated by Tim Kunin and Greg Hesterberg, co-owners of CharityUSA.com (parent company of GreaterGood Network). Long-time friends and activists, they met at the University of Michigan while working on the Michigan Bottle Bill ballot campaign in 1976. In the late 1990s, they recognized that broad consumer-adoption of the Internet offered a new opportunity to raise funds for good causes. As enthusiastic supporters of The Hunger Site, they realized the power of providing busy Internet users with a fast, free and easy way to make a difference and launched EcologyFund.com to give people the means to support wilderness preservation efforts worldwide. They launched The Animal Rescue Site in July 2002. Tim Kunin is a life-long lover of wilderness, who has canoed and hiked for thousands of miles in the United States, Canada and Patagonia. He started working for environmental causes at the University of Michigan, where he walked 200 miles across the state to publicize the need for recycling. He has a wife, two children and a dog, Scout. Tim has traveled extensively to visit charity partners and purchase some of the fair-trade products available on our sites.”

*Special thanks to The Animal Rescue Site for providing this information!  http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/aboutus.faces?siteId=3&link=ctg_ars_aboutus_from_home

Read Full Post »

Legal? Montana wolf hunt law is letting wolves get shot and left to rot

Posted in Wolf Current Events on November 11, 2011| 1 Comment »


Law makes hash of the talk of superb state level wolf management?

“In the new Montana wolf hunt those who shoot a wolf can tag it and walk away, leaving the entire wolf on the ground.  Nick Gevock of the Montana Standard just blew the whistle on this amendment that was sneaked into Montana’s game laws by the legislature.  Read the details. “Disrespecting wildlife: Law allowing wolves to be wasted is a disgrace” By Nick Gevock. Montana Standard.

The stated purpose is to protect hunters from tapeworm eggs which anti-wolf activists say cover the wolves and pose a grave threat to humans.  As with wolf attacks, however, this fear of tapeworms from wolves giving people secondary tapeworm infections suffers from a lack of cases.  So far I have heard of one Idaho case.  Because the parasites are carried by foxes, coyotes, wolves and some dogs, there is no way to tell how the patient got the infestation.

There is a lot of congratulatory talk about what a great job states are doing conserving the “recovered” wolf.  Perhaps even a prominent biologist might even step forth to say so, but look at this and judge for yourself.”

*Special thanks to   On November 11, 2011 (http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2011/11/11/montana-wolves-wasted/)

Read Full Post »

Alaska considers aerial wolf kills in tourist area

Posted in Wolf Current Events on November 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »


Ridiculous!  Tell your local newspaper and let Alaska Governor Sean Purnell (http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/contact/email-the-governor.html)  how you feel about this! 

(Reuters) – “Alaska state officials on Friday were considering a controversial plan to shoot wolves in an effort to boost moose populations in one of the state’s top tourist and recreation areas.

An estimated 90 to 135 wolves range across the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage, where under the proposal hunters would shoot the animals from aircraft.

Officials have not settled on the number of wolves they might kill under the plan, which was on the agenda for discussion at a meeting on Friday of the Alaska Board of Game.

By decreasing attacks on moose from a major predator, the proposal would allow for a rebound in the moose population, which now stands at about 5,000 and is well below targets, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Ted Spraker, an Alaska Board of Game member from the region, said on a statewide public radio program recently that the public is “disgusted” with the low number of moose.

“They want the board to start doing something,” he added.

But the practice of killing wolves to boost moose populations, especially through aerial shooting, has long been hotly debated in Alaska.

Supporters say it is necessary to give hunters opportunities to get moose meat; detractors say it is an inhumane and biologically unsound practice.

Any state-authorized aerial wolf kills will have to exclude the peninsula’s federal lands. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, has not given permission for wolf control on its property, which covers much of the peninsula.

The Alaska Board of Game is expected to make a decision on whether to pursue a moose hunt by Monday, when its meeting lasting several days will end.”

*Special thanks to  “Reuters” for providing this information (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/12/us-wolf-kills-alaska-idUSTRE7AB00Z20111112) (Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Greg McCune)

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »