Minnesota wolf hunt tally now up to 69 killed

Posted by: Doug Smith  

Updated: November 6, 2012

Sixty-nine wolves now have been killed since Saturday in Minnesota's controversial inaugural wolf-hunting season.
Thirty-two wolves were killed Saturday, 18 on Sunday and 16 on Monday. Three more have been registered Tuesday.

The breakdown: Thirty-two wolves have been killed in the DNR's Northwest Zone, where the target is 133, 29 in the Northeast Zone, where the target is 58, and eight in the East Central Zone, where the target is nine. That  zone was closed to wolf hunters at the end of the day Monday.

A total of 3,600 licenses were issued for the early wolf season. There is a 400-wolf quota -- 200 in the early season that runs concurrently with the firearms deer season and 200 in a second hunting-and-trapping season that will open Nov. 24.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin hunters have killed 61 wolves so far in the hunting-trapping season there.

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Image of the Day

Zephyr watching, a photo by Billy320 on Flickr.

For Shame: 50 wolves taken so far in Minnesota's new hunting season

• Article by: STAFF REPORTS
• Updated: November 5, 2012

One of three geographical hunting zones will close to hunters late Monday.

Thirteen deer hunters gathered at this camp Friday, Nov., 2012, near Tower, Minn., where two of the hunters had drawn permits to shoot a wolf in addition to having a license to shoot a deer.

Photo: David Joles, Star Tribune
Star Tribune

Fifty wolves were killed over the weekend in Minnesota's controversial inaugural wolf-hunting season, which opened on Saturday, and one of three geographical hunting zones will close late Monday.

Thirty-two of the 50 wolves -- the tally as of the end of the day Sunday -- were killed Saturday and the rest on Sunday, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

A total of 3,600 licenses were issued for the 16-day early wolf season. There is a 400-wolf quota -- 200 in the early season that runs concurrently with the firearms deer season and 200 in a second hunting-and-trapping season that will open Nov. 24.

Twenty wolves have been killed in the DNR's Northwest Zone, where the target is 133, eight in the East Central Zone, where the target is nine -- that zone will be closed to wolf hunters at the end of the day Monday -- and 22 in the Northeast Zone, where the target is 58.

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Wolf sanctuary offers hands-on training

November 4, 2012

Amy Nile Chronicle (Centralia, Wash.)

Associated Press photo

 

Specialists conduct inoculations on gray wolf pups at a wolf facility in Tenino, Wash., in 2008.
(Full-size photo)

TENINO, Wash. – Wildlife professionals and university students had the rare opportunity to practice anesthetizing and examining three Mexican gray wolves Thursday at Wolf Haven International.
With only about 50 Mexican grays left in the wild and just around 300 in captivity worldwide, the three wolves that live at the Tenino sanctuary offered the participants in a three-day course on wildlife handling and chemical immobilization techniques an opportunity few classes in the country include.

“This training is hands-on plus classroom,” said Casey Pozzanghera, a graduate wildlife biology student from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. “It’s a unique opportunity that brings together a diverse group of people.”

The 17 students in the course dedicated to teaching the humane and respectful capture and handling of wildlife animals came to the 80-acre sanctuary from all over the country and even Mexico for the annual event.

“You’ve got to come west if you want to work with wolves,” said Emily Blade, an animal caregiver who came from Pennsylvania. “This stuff is really necessary for a medical emergency.”

The students anesthetized three of the 50 endangered wolves currently living at the sanctuary so they could receive their examination as required annually by the Species Survival Plan, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife recovery effort to reestablish the endangered Mexican grays into the wild.

As wolves howled in the background, students hurried around whispering while gently examining the anesthetized animals to provide the most compassionate experience for the wolves as possible.
“I’m learning how careful one has to be and how much preparation there is,” said Josh Benton, a student from Puyallup.

The process offered students the opportunity to practice skills like administering medication, handling and moving the animals, checking their weight, charting and monitoring vital signs.

The students multitasked to administer the required vaccines and collect the necessary blood samples, all within about a 45-minute window the wolves were under to keep the sedation to a minimum.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for these captive wolves to help animals worldwide through these students,” said Mark Johnson, a Montana wildlife veterinarian who teaches the course. “After this class, some people will go out and do their own handling.”

Johnson, who founded Global Wildlife Resources, a nonprofit specializing in the humane handling of wildlife, said these students are lucky to have the hands-on practice because many professionals have to learn in the field.

Andrea Shortsleeve, who came from Montana in advance of starting a habitat project for the forest service, said she had only watched the anesthetizing of an animal previously so the training offered her the opportunity to try her hand before starting her work in January.

“It’s been really interesting hearing about other people’s experience,” she said.
Five litters of Mexican gray pups have been born at the nonprofit facility over the past 17 years, and 11 have been re-released into the wild.

Four Mexican wolves at the sanctuary, which celebrated its 30-year anniversary Monday, are recommended for breeding this spring.

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Wolves prove elusive on hunt's first day

• Article by: DOUG SMITH , Star Tribune
• Updated: November 4, 2012

As of Saturday evening, 32 kills had been registered. The quota, over a two-part hunting season, is 400.

TOWER, MINN. - Despite not squeezing the trigger on Saturday, the first day of Minnesota's first managed wolf hunting season, Dave Bjorgo was optimistic he'll shoot one.

"I think my odds are very good," he said on Friday night as he gathered with family and friends around a bonfire at the group's deer camp near Tower.

"There's a lot more wolves now than 10 or 12 years ago," said Bjorgo, 54, of nearby Soudan. "We find wolf scat and tracks everywhere, and we hear them howling."

But by day's end Bjorgo never saw a wolf.

He wasn't alone.

Though 3,600 licenses were issued for the 16-day early wolf season, wolves proved mostly elusive on the first day of the controversial and historic hunt. Thirty-two kills had been registered as of Saturday evening. The deadline to register first-day kills was 10 p.m.

"I think people did pretty well, but I'm not terribly surprised by the numbers,'' said Steve Merchant, Department of Natural Resources acting wildlife chief. "It was in the ballpark [of what we expected.]"

Hunt is on - protests, too

That any wolves were killed upset members of groups that have fought to stop the hunts. Howling for Wolves and the Northwoods Wolf Alliance held rallies in Duluth and on the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation near Cloquet.

"I'm saddened and outraged,'' said Maureen Hackett of Howling for Wolves. "If people understood how much this animal means to Native Americans, and how much it's tearing them apart that wolves are being shot for sport, they wouldn't do it.''

Two other groups intend to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, seeking to return wolves to the Endangered Species List.

But for now, the hunt is on.

Dan Starr, a DNR conservation officer, cruised on Saturday morning in the Ely-Tower area, checking on about a dozen deer hunters. None had seen a wolf or had a wolf license, though most said they support the new hunt.

"I heard some howling this morning," said Kirk Weisinger of Duluth, whose group of 10 had seen a couple of does but hadn't pulled the trigger by late Saturday morning. He didn't apply for a wolf license. "I have no interest in shooting one,'' he said.

But Starr, who has patrolled the Tower region for 15 years, said "there's a lot of excitement in the air" over the inaugural wolf hunting and trapping seasons. And he thinks hunters know this first season is a chance to show they can help manage the wolf population.

"For years and years, hunters have been frustrated because they didn't have that ability," he said.

'There's plenty around'

Starr believes the wolf population, now estimated at 3,000, has increased in recent years. "There's plenty around," he said. "People are seeing them almost every day. I'm not a biologist, but I think we're out of balance right now."

He believes hunters may approach the 400-wolf quota -- 200 in the early season that runs concurrently with the firearms deer season and 200 in a second hunting-trapping season that opens Nov. 24.

Dan Stark, DNR wolf specialist, estimated about 70 wolves might be killed in the early hunt. But if Wisconsin is any indication, trappers in the second season will have a much higher success rate. As of Saturday, 32 of the 57 wolves -- 64 percent -- killed so far in the Wisconsin season were taken in foot-hold traps.

Back at his camp, Bjorgo said his No. 1 priority this weekend is to bag a deer, but if he sees a wolf, he'll shoot it. "I'd love to get a wolf and hang the pelt in the cabin," he said.

Bjorgo said he holds no animosity toward wolves, though he believes their numbers are affecting the deer and moose herds. "The deer season is big up here," he said. "It means a lot to the local economy. Hunters want to see deer. I don't want wolves exterminated -- I want them controlled."

'Wolf is a tremendous asset'

Bjorgo believes the DNR's 400-wolf quota is conservative, as agency officials claim.
"This hunt won't hurt the wolf population at all," he said. "I think it's a good start."
He believes having a wolf season may improve the negative attitude some hunters have toward wolves and could reduce the illegal killing that officials know occurs. He's hoping hunters abide by the laws, so that the state -- and not the federal government -- continues to manage the wolf.
Starr agrees: "The wolf is a tremendous asset, and with proper management will be here for generations to come."

 Video available at link below:
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Mission: Wolf visits CNYCentral

by Laura Hand

Posted: 11.03.2012

Touring Northeast and New England to stress importance of species here

The Mission: Wolf team, executive director Kent Weber, his wife Tracy Ane Brooks and three ambassador wolves, visited Weekend Today in CNY on Saturday morning. Even though the three were on leashes, it was clear that they had their own sense of order and proper behavior.  Our interviews normally run two minutes, this one went longer to give a good look at these elusive and often feared animals, which are making a comeback in parts of the country.
Zeab (pronounced Zeb, arabic for 'wolf') got a lot of our attention.

When he visited last year, he was just a half year old, and looked like a baby.  Now at a year and a half, he's the equivalent of a human 17 year old, and he is physically the biggest of the three. He was born at a wolf sanctuary, but then could not find a permanent zoo home.
Magpie, a 10 year old Arctic Wolf, was a washout as a movie animal.  She is the alpha female ('wears the pants in this family,' says Kent) and her growls clearly kept the boys in line.  She is the most laid back of the three and spend much of her appearance stretched out, relaxing on our carpet.

Abraham, 5 years old, was rescued from the streets of Salt Lake City.  It's believed he's a husky cross.  He was tussling with Zeab over a piece of rawhide before we were on air.  Magpie put a quick end to the squabble.

Kent and Tracy travel the country in a converted bus for several weeks of the year, showing off their ambassadors and explaining the importance of wolves in nature's hierarchy.  They are designed to keep big animals, like deer and elk, under control--their absence at the top of the food chain here, says Kent, is one of the reasons we have a deer overpopulation and pest problem.  He points out that coyotes are getting bigger, physically, and can run deer, however with moose also growing in numbers, the wolf still has a place.
Kent also points out that coyotes have urbanized and are not afraid of people--he forsees more dangers from them to people, if they are not kept in check.

The wolves that visited were very relaxed.  Our quick refresher on eye contact (don't look away or down, it's an insult) and on letting them sniff and see clearly helped put them at ease. However, they are BIG, they eat alot, and they are not dogs--the other message: these are not pets.

The Mission: Wolf website has much more on the Colorado sanctuary, which supports wolf education and welfare.  It also has thumbnail sketches on all the wolves sheltered there.  (More on the wolves' visit last year: http://ow.ly/eY1Yo).

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Image of the Day

IMG_1547, a photo by karirutzen on Flickr.

A hunting season for wolves in U.P.?

Gray wolves could be considered game animal

November 3, 2012

By Ilsa Matthes - staff writer, Daily Press
 

ESCANABA - Gray wolves could soon be considered a game animal in the U.P. and by next year, Michigan could be issuing wolf hunting licenses.

Last January, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the Threatened and Endangered Species List. Wolves in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and portions of adjoining states are now under the regulation of each state's government.
On Aug. 15, Rep. Matt Huuki, R-Atlantic Mine, introduced a bill that would add the gray wolf to the list of huntable game. In early October, Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, introduced a similar measure, Senate Bill 1350, which would designate wolves as a game animal and authorize the Natural Resources Commission to establish a game season.

Casperson is chair of the Senate Natural Resources, Environment and Great Lakes Committee.
According to a press release from Casperson, the Senate Natural Resources, Environment and Great Lakes Committee will convene Thursday to hear testimony on establishing a wolf hunt (see related story).

"I see no reason not to have a hunt sometime in 2013," Casperson told MLive.com in October.
By itself, the bill will not establish a wolf hunt.
"In Michigan, the first step that needs to happen is the reclassification of wolves as a game species," said Debbie Munson Badini, deputy public information officer for the Department of Natural Resources.

According to Badini, If the bill passes and wolves are reclassified as a game species, the Natural Resources Commission - a seven-person board appointed by the governor - will take public comment on the issue and have the option to establish a wolf hunting season.

"The DNR does not actually set the regulations," noted Badini, adding the NRC does take DNR input into consideration.
Both Wisconsin and Minnesota have already implemented hunts. Wisconsin's first wolf hunt began on Oct. 15 and will run until Feb. 28. The Minnesota hunt begins today and will continue until Jan. 31, with a break between the early and late seasons in mid-November.

"We don't think there would be a hunt in Michigan until next year," said Badini.
If the presented bill becomes law and the NRC establishes a wolf hunt, wolf licenses in Michigan would be $100 for residents and $500 for nonresidents. There may also be a $4 application fee for each person who requests a wolf license.

Much of the drive for a legal wolf hunt in Michigan comes concern over how an increase in the wolf population could affect deer populations in the Upper Peninsula.
According to the Michigan DNR, there are around 270,000 deer in the Upper Peninsula. A population of 687 adult wolves - the estimated Michigan wolf population last year - could eat between 17,000 and 29,000 deer.

For comparison, hunters and car accidents kill around 64,000 deer a year, and a severe winter can kill off as much as 30 percent of the deer population.
The threat of harm to livestock and pets has also prompted call for a wolf hunt. While farmers and pet owners are allowed to kill wolves in certain circumstances, some believe that the laws do not go far enough.

Currently, if a dog is being attacked by a wolf, the owner may kill the wolf. The kill must be reported to the DNR within 12 hours and the wolf carcass cannot be moved from the location until a DNR official can inspect the area. DNR officials will also inspect the dog that was attacked.
Farmers follow a similar procedure, however they may move the wolf carcass after photographs have been taken if the carcass will interfere with normal farm operations.

The hunt cannot be started until after the NRC has considered the opinions of hunters, farmers, pet owners and other residents. "There will be ample opportunity for public comment," said Badini.

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New wolf named OR-16 collared near Elgin in northeastern Oregon

By Richard Cockle, The Oregonian
on November 02, 2012

ELGIN -- Federal wildlife workers captured and put a radio collar on an 85-pound gray wolf that biologists hadn't known existed in northeastern Oregon's rugged Blue Mountains north of this sawmill town.

Thursday's capture of the yearling male wolf, dubbed OR-16, took place in the Wenaha Game Management Unit of Union County in an area where wolves weren't known to be living, said Michelle Dennehy, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Workers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service made the capture, she said Friday. It wasn't immediately clear if OR-16 belongs to one of three nearby wolf packs -- the Wenaha, Walla Walla and Umatilla River packs, or represents new wolf activity, she said. That answer may be provided by the new radio collar, she said.

The capture follows the Aug. 25 discovery of a new wolf pack, including a litter of five pups, in the nearby Eagle Cap Wilderness. They were spotted in the upper Minam River drainage. A few weeks later, biologists photographed two pups with the Walla Walla pack, bringing that pack's size to 10 wolves and the number of known reproducing wolf packs in northeastern Oregon to six.

Biologists say the census of new wolf pups in the state is roughly 25, in contrast to a total of 29 known wolves in Oregon in December 2011.

 They've found adult wolves in the Imnaha, Wenaha, Walla Walla, Snake River, Sled Springs and Minam River packs, plus at least two mature wolves in the Mount Emily Game Management Unit  between Pendleton and La Grande.

Additionally, two wolf packs were confirmed in the Sled Springs Game Management Unit over the summer. Biologists radio-collared a 49-pound male pup Aug. 2 in the Snake River Pack.

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Washington Legislature to examine killing wolves

Friday, November 2, 2012

A key state lawmaker says he'll hold a hearing on the state Fish and Wildlife Department's decision to kill a pack of wolves that had been preying on cattle in northeast Washington.

The Associated Press

SEATTLE — 

A key state lawmaker says he'll hold a hearing on the state Fish and Wildlife Department's decision to kill a pack of wolves that had been preying on cattle in northeast Washington.
Sen. Kevin Ranker of Orcas Island heads a committee overseeing the department. He told KING ( http://is.gd/0I50GR) he wants to clarify the policy on killing wolves to help ranchers.

The department says it had no choice but to remove the pack after it became accustomed to killing cattle instead of wild game in the Wedge area of Stevens County north of Kettle Falls.
A helicopter was used to track tagged wolves and shoot the eight-animal Wedge pack in September.
The pack was killed at the same time the department is trying to re-establish the endangered species in the state.
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Information from: KING-TV, http://www.king5.com/

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