Western Great Lakes

Two weeks after five wildlife protection groups filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to delist gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes; the USFWS reached a settlement agreement with the coalition.  On June 29, 2009, the Service agrees with the coalition that sufficient opportunity for public review and comment as required by federal law was not provided prior to delisting the Western Great Lakes gray wolves.  Upon acceptance of this agreement by the court, and while the Service gathers additional public comment, gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes area will again be protected under the Endangered Species Act.  All restrictions and requirements in place under the Act prior to delisting will be reinstated.  In Minnesota, gray wolves will be considered threatened; elsewhere in the region, gray wolves will be designated as endangered.  U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C. must approve the settlement agreement for it to take effect.

Northern Rocky Mountains

The federal government is faced with another lawsuit over the recent removal of most gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains from the endangered species.  The Bozeman-based Greater Yellowstone Coalition says in its lawsuit that the wolf's long-term survival remains at risk.  This is the second case assigned to U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy who is also presiding over a similar lawsuit filed previously by 13 environmental and animal rights groups.

Southeast

In North Carolina, 41 red wolf pups born in the wild this spring gave biologists a big reason to celebrate.  Eleven litters were found!  The count represents a higher than average whelping rate for the 15 collared packs in the state's red wolf recovery program.  The 21-year-old program covers 1.7 million acres in five counties and includes three National Wildlife Refuges:  Alligator National Wildlife Refuge, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge.  Currently, only 100 to 120 red wolves live in the wild, 86 of them collared.

Southwest

Federal wildlife managers have decided to allow an endangered Mexican gray wolf linked to four livestock depredations to remain in the wild.   Despite a rule allowing the agency to remove a wolf from the wild after 3 depredations in one year, the agency said removal of the wolf could be detrimental to any potential gains in the species' population in New Mexico and Arizona.  The alpha male is raising four 8-week-old pups with the pack's alpha female known as the San Mateo pack.  The program's Interagency Field Team has been requested to monitor the pack and try to prevent any further livestock depredations.  Tactics may include establishing a food cache for the wolves - native prey placed in certain areas by wildlife managers to prevent the wolves from going after livestock.

Due to the recent deaths of M660 in captivity and six pups of the year from its mate F749, the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery's Interagency Field Team has suspended the planned initial release of this pack of wolves this upcoming July.  Another wolf pack at this location is planned for release during the summer of 2010.  There are only about 50 Mexican gray wolves in the wild to date consisting of only two breeding pairs.  

Idaho

Idaho's Phantom Hill Wolf Pack has lost its alpha male known as B333 and nicknamed "Papa."  Laying in a roadside ditch after being hit by a vehicle, the 110-pound wolf was found dead on Sunday, June 14.  Arriving two springs ago, Papa was one of the three founding members of the all-black, pack and the first pack confirmed to have established a den and given birth to pups in the Wood River Valley.  He was trapped and collared by Wildlife Services in Summer 2007.  The pack is survived by the alpha female, a three-year old named Judith, a two-year old named Shadow, six yearlings and this year's pups.  Deep concern for the pack without its leader grows as time nears for three sheep bands (over 7500 sheep) are scheduled to be released for grazing onto Sawtooth National Forest public lands allotments right into the pack's home range.  Hopes are that the Wood River Wolf Project team will continue to keep the wolves and sheep apart.  Last summer, this effort was able to keep depredations down to a single sheep.  Wolf killing has already started in the Sawtooth Valley of central Idaho this year and if the delisting is not reversed, hunting will begin in the fall.  Idaho Department of Fish and Game retrieved Papa's carcass and it's expected there will be a necropsy, which should provide information about age and genealogy.

New York

The New York State Zoo at Thompson Park has 5 new wolf pups born May 4 to the zoo's pair of wolves.  The pups mom and dad, a male timberwolf named Kenai and a female arctic wolf named Kaja, were acquired by the zoo in January from a wildlife rehabilatator in South Carolina.

North Carolina

A 7-year-old red wolf is back on display at the Museum of Life and Science after a cancerous growth was removed from her chest.  The plum-sized tumor is associated with blood vessels known as a hemangiopericytoma.  It tends not to spread but can recur and become hard to treat.  The wolf recuperated well from the 90-minute operation, which is extremely more stressful for wild animals than for pets.  She is the female of a top genetic pair at the museum participating in the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan, a program that is rebuilding the species from 14 animals taken from the wild thought to have been the last of their kind in the world.

Virginia

Busch Gardens Williamsburg introduced the two newest additions to its family.  A pair of gray wolf pups are part of the park's wolf ambassador program to help guests understand and appreciate the important role of wolves, one of North America's few remaining large predators.  You can see them at the Jack Hanna Wild Reserve Haven.

Washington

A remote camera set up by state wildlife biologists has captured what appears to be a lactating female wolf in the middle of Pend Oreille County.  Fur samples were taken from bait areas to determine if Washington has its second documented pair of breeding wolves.

Wisconsin

A recent monthly meeting updated the Wisconsin DNR Board with information on the goals and outline for a new wolf management plan that is due in 2010.  The Wolf Science Committee suggested that any Wisconsin harvest plan be considered from a regional viewpoint.  Since 2000 growth rates have slowed to 10-12 percent annually.  Adrian Wydeven, a DNR conservation biologist and wolf specialist, noted that to adequately protect the wolf population should a wolf harvest season be implemented, the science team felt an increase in the current management goal would have to be considered.  "The agency's goal for recovery has been 350, but the DNR now believes that far more wolves can flourish on the landscape."  A total of 162 wolf packs were detected in Wisconsin.  A pack consisting of at least two adult wolves each.  Biologists found 23 packs distributed across central Wisconsin and 139 packs in northern Wisconsin.  Of 94 wolves found dead last year, 14 were killed illegally, according to the DNR.

"With large carnivores such as wolves, public attitudes are sometimes more critical to manage than the animals themselves," says Adrian Wydeven."

Wyoming

Wolves have not impacted elk populations.  A count by state wildlife managers reveals elk numbers surpass goals.  Wyoming elk numbers are at least 12.3 percent above Game and Fish objectives, likely more with uncounted animals, totaling 93,383 in the most recent census.  The annual report, 2009 Big Game Hunting Season Recommendation Summary, says 18 of the 25 counted herds were above population objectives and seven of them at the objectives.  None of the herds were below objectives, the report stated.

Finland

Gray wolves have expanded their range to include western and southern Finland.  The area has not hosted breeding wolves for over 100 years.  Concerns and public debate have been raised over wolf-livestock conflicts.

Germany

According to officials, a German hunter faces prosecution after shooting one of two wolves known to live in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.  The wolf's four to six-week-old cubs were with the mother in the den at the time of the slaying.  It remains to be seen, whether the female wolf can raise the cubs on her own.  Should the investigation confirm that the hunter deliberately shot the wolf, the case would be handled according to federal nature conservation laws including up to a five year prison term and monetary fine.  If proven it was a negligent shooting, the hunter still could be imprisoned up to six months.  The approximately 50 free-roaming wolves in Germany dispersed from Poland in recent years are tightly guarded according to the country's conservation laws.