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“Degree won’t let you down” slogan a major let down to wolves

January 22, 2011 by wolfpreservation


The fictional Bear Grylls Degree commercial involving wolves chasing three men with meat suits and looking as though one man died is not only despicable but casts a horrible image of these usually shy animals.  “Degree” appears okay with illustrating wolves this way but Wolf Preservation, among others, take offense to this untrue, uncharacteristic portrayal of a dog-like animal long chastised by many people.  Wolf Preservation encourages readers in taking a brief moment to share your views with the Degree Company (https://ssl.unilever.com/degreedeodorant.com/Contact.aspx).

The YouTube video of Degree’s commercial can be viewed below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFeN2J_EKQs

Posted in Wolf Preservation Efforts | 3 Comments »

The wolves and moose of Isle Royale; a 50 year study!

January 16, 2011 by wolfpreservation


Wolves must work very hard to catch and kill their prey.  Prey is usually much larger and can fight back.  This famous study proves that every meal for wolves could be their last.  http://www.isleroyalewolf.org/overview/overview/wolves.html has provided the following information:
“For most North American and European humans eating a meal is a pretty simple affair: get some food from the cupboard, heat it up, and eat.  What if every meal required exerting yourself to the point of exhaustion, holding nothing back?  What if every meal meant risking serious injury or death?  Under these circumstances, you might be happy to eat only once a week or so – like Isle Royale wolves.
    Isle Royale wolves capture and kill, with their teeth, moose that are ten times their size.  Think about it for a moment – it is difficult to comprehend.  A successful alpha wolf will have done this more than one hundred times in its life.   Wolves minimize the risk of severe injury and death by attacking the most vulnerable moose.  Somehow wolves are incredible judges of what they can handle.  Wolves encounter and chase down many moose. Chases typically continue for less than ½ a mile.
    During chase and confrontation wolves test their prey.  Wolves attack only about 1 out of every ten moose that they chase down.  They kill 8 or 9 of every ten moose that they decide to attack.  The decision to attack or not is a vicious tension between intense hunger and wanting not to be killed by your food.
    Wolves typically attack moose at the rump and nose.  The strategy is to inflict injury by making large gashes in the muscle, and to slow the moose by staying attached, thereby allowing other wolves to do the same.  Eventually the moose is stopped and brought to the ground by the weight and strength of the wolves. The cause of death may be shock or loss of blood.  Feeding often begins before the moose is dead.
    A moose, with a wolf clamped to its rump is still formidable.  They can easily swing around, lifting the wolf into the air, and hurl the wolf into a tree.  Most experienced wolves have broken (and healed) their ribs on several occasions.  Moose deliver powerful kicks with their hooves.  Wolves occasionally die from attacking moose.”

Posted in Facts and Figures, Wolf Research | Leave a Comment »

“Alpha and Omega” released on DVD. Get your copy!

January 12, 2011 by wolfpreservation


Get your copy of this fascinating animated film about wolf packs, specifically the love between an alpha and omega.  If you use Amazon to purchase this item, please click on the banner through “The Independent Critic,” (http://www.theindependentcritic.com/alpha_and_omega) to help a worthy cause!

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A130%2Ck%3AAlpha%20and%20Omega&page=1

Posted in Wolves and educational activities | Leave a Comment »

Captive Breeding to the Rescue

January 12, 2011 by wolfpreservation


In their darkest days, only five Mexican gray wolves—including just one female—could be found in the wild. Professional biologists at the nation’s leading zoos and other wildlife facilities helped pull Mexican gray wolves back from the brink of extinction by creating a captive breeding program which now involves 51 facilities across the United States and Mexico.

“Lobos of The Southwest” are working to help ensure the survival of the Mexican gray wolf.  Please visit their website provided below.

http://www.mexicanwolves.org/index.php/captive-breeding

Posted in Wolf Current Events, Wolf Preservation Efforts | 1 Comment »

Sask. farmer shoots 3 wolves

January 5, 2011 by wolfpreservation


What began as an early-morning deer hunt turned into an unnerving encounter with three timber wolves, a Saskatchewan farmer says.

Late last month, Gord Cadrain ventured east from his farm near Glaslyn, 68 kilometres north of North Battleford.

Cadrain said he was lying in snow-covered brush, scanning for deer through the scope of his gun, when he spotted a yellow eye.

“‘What the heck was that?'” he recalled thinking. “‘Was that a coyote, or a wolf or what?'”

It was, in fact, a timber wolf and it appeared to be stalking Cadrain, he said.

He shot and wounded the animal, then followed the trail of blood down a coulee to make sure the wolf was dead.

‘These wolves, there was no fear in their eyes.’—Gord Cadrain, farmer

At a point where the trail ended, he ran into his second wolf.

“I look over to the right and here comes another one. A great big white bugger, and he’s coming straight for me,” Cadrain said.

Cadrain shot that wolf and another soon after. 

“These wolves, there was no fear in their eyes,” he said. “They were in the hunting mode. They just basically [mistook] me for a deer.”

With only one round left, Cadrain quickly headed home. If there were more wolves, he would have been in big trouble, he said. They were all large, healthy-looking animals.

“It would have been one heck of a fight,” he said. “If you think you were going to beat them off with a stick … you’d be looking for a pretty big stick.”

He made it home without any further incident. Although wolves are by nature shy creatures, Cadrain said, he will now avoid that area.

“I have no fear of timber wolves,” he said. “It was just one of those oddball things.”

Although reports of wolf attacks are rare, there have been a number of sightings of the animals this year in La Ronge and other northern communities.

No one has been hurt.

Posted in Wolf Current Events | 3 Comments »

Wolves at large in Madrid mountains

January 5, 2011 by wolfpreservation


MADRID – MANY currently struggle to keep the figurative wolf from the door but in the Guadarrama mountains (Madrid), cattle farmers are striving to keep Iberian wolves from their herds and flocks. Videos and sound recordings had been sent to the regional president, Esperanza Aguirre, to prove that wolves were in the area and attacked livestock, said a representative from the Farming, Stockbreeding and Forestry Union (UGEMA).

The Madrid regional government’s environment department conceded that wolves were around but insisted that they did not inhabit the area but crossed the boundaries separating Madrid from Avila and Segovia.

Cattle farmers and the regional government are now attempting to put guidelines in place for payouts in compensation for attacks from the wolves, which are a protected species unique to Spain.

As already happens in the neighbouring region of Castilla y Leon, breeders and farmers could find themselves having to insure animals to demonstrate that they, too, were prepared to shoulder some of the responsibility.

“But it should not require much effort on the part of the Madrid regional government to compensate affected farmers for the damage inflicted by wildlife, including wolves,” argued UGEMA.

Local forest rangers confirmed the presence of wolves in Guadarrama and agreed that legislation was required without delay to ensure that the cattle farmers did not suffer financially.

“Compensation payments would protect the wolves from illegal deterrents like traps or poison and these iconic animals could remain safely in the province,” said one ranger.

Meanwhile, affected farmers and breeders should increase safety measures by putting up fences and enclosing herds and flocks at night, said experts, who also recommended a return to traditional mastiffs as guard dogs.

http://www.euroweeklynews.com/2011010385287/news/spain/wolves-at-large-in-madrid-mountains.html

Posted in Wolf Current Events, Wolf Preservation Efforts | Leave a Comment »

Alaskan Woman Killed by Wolves?

December 28, 2010 by wolfpreservation


In March of 2010, just outside of Chignik Lake, Alaska, a 32 year old schoolteacher was killed by an unknown wild animal while jogging just a mile away from her own home. The consensus among state troopers, news articles, and local villagers was that there was a 99% chance that a wolf or wolves had been the culprits of this unforeseen attack.  The schoolteacher, Candice Berner, had been dragged a small distance from where the attack occurred and paw prints, presumably wolf, had been found around her body. In addition, however, a few snowmobilers spotted human footprints in the vicinity where Berner had been attacked.  Autopsy results concluded only that her body had been assaulted by animals, but could not determine whether this occurred prior to death or not.  

Certainly there are factors that could give weight to the theory that the attack was indeed initiated by one or more wolves. There were paw prints found at the scene of the attack which appeared to be in the shape of wolf prints; witnesses stated that the only wild animal seen in the days prior to Berner’s death were wolves; and Berner had been running prior to her attack and wolves are known to have an instinctual nature to chase their prey.

While the facts listed above are truthful in nature, there are other factors not considered that might suggest that a wolf did not attack Berner.  Historically wolves do not attack humans for the simple reason that humans are higher up on the food chain and tend to pose the larger threat to the wolf. There are arguments that wolves find the taste of human flesh less appealing because it is not part of their routine diet. When a wolf attacks animal prey, it cannot finish the entire carcass and tends to leave portions of the body to the wilderness. When the wolf does leave however, it is followed quickly by other carnivorous opportunists who quickly dive in to clean up what the wolf has left behind. Berner’s body showed animal assault wounds, but the coroner could not determine if animals were the cause of death.

Giving the state troopers and eye witnesses the benefit of the doubt, there are compelling factors as to why this could have been a wolf attack, however it is imperative to note that even if a wolf is the cause, the attack is absolutely and undeniably a rare occurrence in the United States.

To call a spade a spade, humans have imposed on nature’s habitat for years and prolonged exposure of wolves to humans over time has increased the likelihood of an incident. Berner could have been more of a target because she was small in stature. To the wolf, Berner would have appeared vulnerable and weak because of her size and because she was alone. As if that were not enough to entice the wolf, she would have appeared to be offering them a chance to chase their prey.   Wolves experience a higher likelihood of failure in catching prey if they are larger, healthy, and standing their ground face to face. The wolf’s success rate in catching food is extremely low and increased hunger can lead to desperation and deviation from normal eating patterns. If any wolves involved were younger, less experienced, and unable to find plentiful, easy prey, Berner may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and unaware of her surroundings.   

While there will likely never be any definitive proof to explain what really happened to Candice Berner that day, it is a safe bet that while humankind continues to tread with little or no care into the wilderness it will be met with animosity and defensiveness. The moral to this tale is to be cognizant and respectful of the beauty the wilderness holds and humans will find that cohabitation is possible.

**Please follow additional articles by myself, Indianapolis Wildlife Advocacy Examiner at http://www.examiner.com/wildlife-advocacy-in-indianapolis/michael-heath

Posted in Wolf Current Events | Leave a Comment »

Carlsbad Mexican gray wolf to mate with Mexican female in breeding program

December 28, 2010 by wolfpreservation


By Stella Davis

Current-Argus Staff Writer

CARLSBAD — After several months of talks and mounds of paper work, a male Mexican gray wolf from the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park was flown earlier this month to a facility in Mexico where it will be paired with a female of the same species.

The wolf, sent to Centro Encologico de Sonora in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, is one of six Mexican gray wolf brothers housed at the park that came from the Wild Canid Research and Survival Center in Eureka, Mo.

The endangered wolves are placed in institutions by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums through the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan, said Holly Payne, park general curator.

The six wolves have been fostered at the park since 2005 and have not been bred, Payne said.

“The AZA Species Survival Plan contacted us and said the facility in Mexico has a single female that is genetically important and since our six brothers also are important genetic-wise, they recommended breeding one of our males with the female in Mexico,” Payne explained. “But before we could do that, we had to go through a lot of red tape and complete a lot of paperwork. For us, this is the first time we have sent one of our animals to another country. The transfer of the wolf was a huge collaborative effort with a lot of people and agencies involved.”

In addition to the park, agencies involved in the transfer include LightHawk – a nonprofit organization that aids animal conservation

efforts by donating flights and pilots – Association of Zoos and Aquariums Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA and the Mexican government.

The wolf was flown from Chandler Aviation, the fixed based operator at the Cavern City Air Terminal, to Hermosillo by LightHawk.

“They did a wonderful job of getting the wolf comfortable for the flight to Mexico,” Payne said. “Their mission is to champion environmental protection through the unique perspective of flight.”

According to the AZA Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan, the Mexican gray wolf or “lobo” is the rarest, southernmost and most genetically distinct sub-species of gray wolf found in North America. Adult wolves typically weigh 50-80 pounds, are about 5 feet in total length and have a richly colored coat of buff, brown, gray, red, white and black.

The Mexican gray wolf breeding program began in the late 1970s with the capture of five wolves from the wild. Later, in the mid 1990s, a few additional wolves were confirmed to have been pure Mexican wolves as well. With careful breeding and husbandry management, the population increased.

The government predator control programs from the 1890s through the 1960s targeted the wolf for extermination to protect ranchers from livestock losses. Professional trappers and chemical poisons have eliminated the Mexican gray wolf from its former range in the southwest U.S. and Mexico.

There always has been controversy with ranchers over the Mexican gray wolf and the release of some Mexican gray wolves into the wild had met with strong objection from the ranching communities in the release areas. Some wolves that were reintroduced into the wild have been reportedly killed after their release because of alleged livestock losses in their roaming areas.

Thanks to Argus Staff Writer Stella Davis for providing this information.  This article can be seen through the link below.

http://www.currentargus.com/ci_16955253

Posted in Wolf Preservation Efforts | Leave a Comment »

Utah Senator Allen Christensen says, “passing a bill to declare Utah’s policy to destroy or remove all wolves is a simple case of states’ rights.”

December 10, 2010 by wolfpreservation


What you can do if you oppose Utah state senator Allen Christensen wolf killing bill?

Wolves urgently need your help. Please send the following alert to as many people as you can. Use your organization’s email list if you can! Do it right away, then act on it yourself! The organization Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife has a bill before the Utah legislature that would require the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to prevent wolf packs from becoming established in the Utah portion of the Rocky Mountain gray wolf recovery area. This part of the recovery area is where dispersing wolves from the Yellowstone country have been entering Utah, some of them traveling on to Colorado. If this bill passes, any wolves entering Utah in this area will be subject to capture and return or death. This egregious bill, identified as S.B. 36 first substitute, would supplant the Utah Wolf Management Plan – a plan which would at least tolerate up to two breeding pairs producing at least two surviving offspring for two consecutive years. I know, this plan is really lame, but it is better than what the bill would require. Furthermore, it was created through a public process that began with and ended with the Utah legislature – a process that involved 13 representatives of a diverse group of stakeholders, including ranchers and sportsmen, working for a year and a half. Even then, the ranching and hunting interests on the working group violated the mutually agreed-upon protocols in order to ensure that the resulting plan is really weak. Not satisfied with that, now they want to lord over the rest of us to ensure that there are never any wild wolves in Utah. At bottom this is a moral issue: We must stand up for wolves and wild nature and for ourselves. Here’s what you can do, but please do it quickly as this bill is on a fast track – do it NOW if you can: If you are a Utah resident, go to the following web-site and click on ‘Senate’ and ‘House’ to find your senator and your representative, then contact each and let him or her know in no ambiguous terms that you want this bill to fail. This will be particularly important for those of you who live in the Republican-dominated rural parts of the state: http://www.le.state.ut.us/ If you live outside Utah and you want to exert influence on this, you might contact the Utah Office of Tourism and express your displeasure over this bill and tell them that, if it passes, it will make you less interested in vacationing and recreating in Utah: http://travel.utah.gov/contactus.html If you would like to be added to the Utah Wolf Forum list serve to receive periodic updates on this and other wolf-related issues, contact lynx@xmission.com and state your request. It is our policy that you also briefly state your reason.

Sincerely, Kirk Robinson, PhD, Director of Western Wildlife Conservancy Allison Jones, M.S., Conservation biologist with Wild Utah Project

*Thanks to “Howling for Justice” for providing this information. (http://howlingforjustice.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/utah-senator-to-wolves-do-not-enter-utah-on-pain-of-death-alert-take-action/)

Posted in Wolf Current Events, Wolf Preservation Efforts | Leave a Comment »

Interior Secretary Salazar and 3 Western Governors guarantee circumventing the Endangered Species Act! Please read and re-post!

December 6, 2010 by wolfpreservation


Thanks to Marc Cooke, Wildlife Advocate, for providing this information. 

Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance (NIWA)
December 5, 2010

SOME REPRESENTATIVES HAVE JOINED THE ATTACK ON WOLVES AND THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Pardon us for a seeming redundancy, but a bill, HR 6028, has been introduced in the House of Representatives to delist wolves from the Endangered Species List (ESL). This is companion legislation to the Senate bill (S. 3864) we wrote to you about a few days ago. If anything, it is worse than the Senate version because it delists ALL wolves, including the remnant 47 Mexican wolves in the Southwest.

A few days ago, Interior Salazar Secretary assured 3 western governors that the Obama administration would help get the bills passed in the next two weeks.

This bill would circumvent the Endangered Species Act (ESA), & remove wolves from its protection.

It would set a dangerous precedent, by, for the first time, removing an animal from the ESL for political, not scientific reasons. No animal that hunters, ranchers and anti-wildlife forces dislike would ever be safe again.

The immediate consequences would be wolf-hunting seasons in Idaho, Montana, & Wyoming, as well as wolf exterminations by the US Wildlife Service. Almost half of the wolves recently brought back from extinction would be killed, thus reducing them to a remnant, token population, unable to fulfill their biological role in our forests and subjecting them to their possible second extinction.

We are asking you to take 3 actions:
       1. Contact pro-environmental Congressmen on the House Committee on Natural Resources, listed below, and ask them to oppose this legislation.

    2. Forward it to people who care about wolves.

    3. Network with local pro-wildlife organizations & ask them to get on board in this effort (big ones like Defenders of Wildlife, NRDC, etc are already working on it)

Here are important talking points:
ï Rather than decimating livestock, wolves are responsible for less than 1% of depredation.
ï Rather than reducing elk populations, elk numbers have increased since wolf re-introduction to over one million in the Northern Rockies.
ï Scientific studies show that wolves have positive effects on forest health.
ï This bill would set a dangerous precedent, subjecting other species in the future to political rather than scientific scrutiny to delist them.

Thank you for your efforts. Together, we can successfully defend the wolves.

        Nancy Taylor, Co-Chair
        Ann Sydow, Co-Chair  & Newsletter Editor
        Ken Fischman, Vice-Chair
       

You can: (1) Call, (2) FAX, or (3) click on the Representativesí email

Committee on Natural Resources:

Rahall, Nick – (D – WV), Chair
(304) 522 6425 Huntington office
(304) 529 5716 fax
eMail – http://www.rahall.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=91&sectiontree=91
 
Hinchey, Maurice – (D – NY)
(845) 331 4466 Kingston office
(202) 226 0774 fax
 
DeFazio, Peter – (D – OR)
(541) 465 6732 Eugene office
(541) 465 6458 fax
eMail – https://forms.house.gov/defazio/IMA/contact.html
 
Grijalva, Raul M. – (D – AZ)
(520) 622 6788 Tucson office
(520) 622 0198 fax
eMail – http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&sectiontree=2,49
 
Miller, George – (D- CA)
(925) 602 1880 Concord office
(925) 674 0983 fax
eMail – https://georgemiller.house.gov/contact/email-me.shtml
 
 
 
Committee on Natural Resources, Sub-Committee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife
 
Bordallo, Madeleine Z. (D – Guam), Chair
(202) 225 1188 Washington, D.C. office
(202) 226 0341 fax
eMail – http://www.house.gov/bordallo/contact.shtml

Posted in Wolf Current Events | Leave a Comment »

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