Wolf News Roundup 3/27/2017
by Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!
March 27, 2017
Arizona
The success of Mexican wolf recovery across Arizona and New Mexico hinges more immediately on maintaining social tolerance than on genetic diversity, according to a recently published peer-reviewed study.
The study was published in Biological Conservation, a leading international conservation science journal. In it, the authors, which include Arizona Game and Fish Department biologists, conclude that maximizing genetic diversity in Mexican wolf recovery must be strategically balanced against impacts and concerns from local communities or the entire recovery program might be compromised.
"It has become increasingly evident that recovery of Mexican wolves will need to consider and weigh both the social concerns voiced by local communities and the numbers of wolves required for sustainable populations in the wild," the study states.
Nevada
California officials have lost track of the Shasta wolf pack, but Nevada officials have provided a clue. According to SFGate, a Nevada Department of Wildlife official confirmed that the state has confirmed wolf presence for the first time in nearly 100 years. After a wolf was seen in an area of Nevada some 20 miles from the California border, scat was collected on site. Lab work determined that the lone male wolf was genetically linked to the adult pair of wolves that whelped near California’s Mount Shasta in 2015.
Vancouver Island
British Columbia media report that a popular Vancouver Island beach has been closed after a wolf repeatedly behaved in an aggressive manner around humans. The beach was closed after a wolf attacked a leashed dog, the second attack this week. Wildlife officials plan to try to haze the animal from the area.
Swiss
Although wolves are a protected species in Switzerland, government officials have granted approval for hunters to kill a specific wolf, M75, after genetic testing linked the wolf to the death of more than 40 sheep in the southern part of the country. According to media reports, local authorities can authorize the killing of wolves that kill more than 25 livestock.
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