Month: August 2018

A Thurston County Superior Court judge today issued an order permitting the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to initiate lethal action to kill the adult male wolf from the Togo pack. The kill order was originally issued following livestock depredations in Togo territory, including on U.S. Forest Service land, over the course of…

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen just blocked the opening of the first grizzly bear trophy hunt in the Rockies in more than 40 years. The hunts were poised to be the biggest in the lower 48 states since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed protections for grizzlies in the Yellowstone region less than a…

According to a new study published today, the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park is tied to the recovery of aspen trees in areas around the park. This is the first large-scale study to show that aspen is recovering in areas around the park, as well as inside the park boundary, said Luke Painter,…

Damaging anti-wildlife amendments (riders) that undermine Endangered Species Act (ESA) are still in play for the House FY 2019 Interior/EPA appropriations bill – H.R. 6147. One provision goes as far as to remove protection for gray wolves nationwide. Section 117 legislatively removes federal protections for all gray wolves in the lower 48 states except the…

This red wolf pup was born into a world that currently has only one place for them in the wild. Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) seeks to take that place away. On June 28, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced it’s proposal that could result with the extinction of the…

There is a charismatic canid living in the eastern United States, and it is the result of evolution occurring right under our noses! Over the years these coyotes have acquired a number of sensational nicknames; both “Coywolf” and “Coydog” have been growing in popularity, however, the scientific community calls them Eastern Coyotes. Ecologist and evolutionary…

It’s National Dog Day! At the Wolf Conservation Center, we believe happiness is having dogs (and wolves!) at the office.Drew and Kai Drew (the dog featured in the video) is a member of the staff pack – a squad of office dogs who come to work every day at the Center. Although Drew has never…

Last year, just 300 yards away from their home in Idaho, 14-year-old Canyon Mansfield and his best pal, 3-year-old Labrador Casey, encountered a “cyanide bomb” (M-44 device) – a deadly device intended to control predator activity by spraying deadly sodium cyanide into the mouths of unsuspecting coyotes, foxes and other carnivores lured by smelly bait.…

Wolves are not only intelligent; they can be playful and have a natural sense of curiosity. Their curious nature, however, comes second to their neophobia – a fear of anything new. Note the how although the unmanned iPhone evokes curiosity, the red wolves’ neophobia prevents them from lingering too long around the alien gadget. This…

FREE webinar September 5, 2018 Eastern wolves (Canis lycaon) have hybridized extensively with coyotes (C. latrans) and gray wolves (C. lupus) in Ontario, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying Canis hybridization. Join the Wolf Conservation Center and wildlife research biologist John F. Benson, PhD for an exclusive webinar about his intensive field study…