Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Photo Courtesy of Fort Peck Journal

In some happy news, some of the genetically pure bison that were transferred to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation last month have become proud parents.  As of today 13 newborns were reported among the herd with more reportedly expected soon.

According to the story in the Great Falls Tribune, the herd has taken to the newborns immediately and is doing a good job protecting them by huddling around them, keeping them close and not letting them drift too far away.

“The birth of the first bison calf at Fort Peck Reservation is the next positive step in wild bison restoration to the Great Plains with a new generation of pure bison starting their lives,” said Jonathan Proctor, Defenders’ Rocky Mountain region representative.

Photo Courtesy of Fort Peck Journal

Thanks to all our Defenders supporters for all your actions and donations that helped bring these wild bison home!

Read the full success story.

Learn more about what Defenders is doing to help bison.

You can check out Fort Peck Journal’s Facebook Page for more baby bison photos as they become available.

Wyoming approves fall wolf hunt – Wyoming’s Fish and Game Commission continued its preparations to hunt wolves this fall by adopting hunting regulations that will allow up to 52 wolves to be killed in the trophy game area surrounding Yellowstone National Park in the northwest part of the state.

The last official count from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated there were at least 328 wolves in Wyoming at the end of 2011 with about 100 of those within Yellowstone National Park. However, state wildlife managers have been saying there are now about 270 wolves outside the park, the majority of which are in the trophy game management area. About 30 wolves are in the predator zone where they can be shot on sight without a hunting license. That means about 30 percent of the wolves outside of Yellowstone are likely to be killed later this year if delisting of wolves in Wyoming moves forward. Until then, the fate of these wolves still rests in the hands of the Obama administration.

A herder and his dog round up a flock of sheep in central Idaho's Wood River Valley.

Wood River Wolf Project turns five – Defenders hosted a project planning meeting last week to finalize plans for our fifth project year in central Idaho. Wolf advocates, ranchers, scientists and county officials are collaborating to implement nonlethal deterrent strategies to prevent losses of wolves and livestock. Five years later, documented sheep losses to wolves in our project area are 90% lower than Idaho average. Additionally, no wolves within the project area have yet been lethally removed for livestock losses, while regionally over 1,600 wolves have been killed in attempt to address losses of more than 3,000 sheep and 1,500 cattle over the last quarter century. Recent research indicates lethal wolf control alone achieves short-term effects but fails to prevent future livestock losses and increases social conflicts concerning wolf losses.  The Wood River Wolf Project demonstrates that nonlethal methods help reduce management costs and social conflict while maintaining the wolf’s important ecological functionality.  At the request of participants, we are working to expand the Wood River Wolf Project to a county-wide scope.  Blaine County has publicly expressed support for wolves and other local wildlife and respects their community members’ diverse interests in agriculture as well as the environment.  The project training workshop kicks off the season on June 20 -21, 2012.  Contact Suzanne Stone, our regional wolf coexistence expert, for more information about these methods and our projects.

Week of wolf action – Stay tuned next week as we look back on the first year of wolf management in the Northern Rockies since federal protections were removed. The inauspicious anniversary on May 5 is a good chance to reflect on aggressive actions taken to limit wolf numbers and an opportunity to reflect on what changes need to be made. Defenders is launching a Week of Wolf Action to share our concerns. We hope you will participate to make sure your voice is heard as well!

Forty-four Mexican gray wolves have been illegally killed since 1998.

Another endangered Mexican gray wolf has been gunned down in southeastern Arizona, the 44th known illegal killing since the wolves were reintroduced in the region in 1998.

Although illegal killings rank as the leading cause of death for the most endangered wolf subspecies in the world, few people have ever been prosecuted for killing a Mexican wolf.

Wildlife officials confirmed in April that the young female – a member of the Hawks Nest Pack, which has a good reputation for avoiding cattle – died from a single gunshot wound, according to the Associated Press.

Defenders of Wildlife has contributed $10,000 to a reward fund of almost $60,000 for information leading to the conviction of the person or people responsible for the shooting.

With only some 58 Mexican wolves in the wild, it is crucial that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service release more wolves to keep the population from backsliding toward extinction.

Sea otters frolic off the coast of California.

With their expressive faces and soft, furry bodies, sea otters exude charisma. But when it comes to survival, cute and cuddly doesn’t always cut it.

As few as 2,800 sea otters call California’s waters home. The population descends from a single remaining colony of about 50 hidden amid the crags of Big Sur, out of sight from fur hunters who nearly wiped out the world’s entire population by the early 1900s. Today they are at risk from pollution-caused disease, oil spills and fishing gear.

But even in such small numbers, these marine mustelids—related to weasels, ferrets and minks—have a profound influence on the marine ecosystem, keeping crucial kelp forests healthy by eating urchins that can overgraze. The otters’ diverse diet includes clams, crabs and mussels, which they cleverly crack open with a rock—every otter keeps one tucked away in a chest pouch.

Unlike most of their blubbery brethren, sea otters have fur—the densest of any mammal at up to 1 million hairs per square inch—to keep the chilly waters at bay. Because they can’t afford a bad hair day, much time is spent grooming their “do.” If their fur becomes soiled, it’s no longer waterproof and they can freeze to death. That’s one reason oil spills are so lethal.

Despite these amazing adaptations, California sea otters still need our help to keep their heads above water—so they can frolic and we can be charmed throughout this century and into the next.

Read more from the spring issue of Defenders magazine.

Jackson wolf put down over safety concerns – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this week that it euthanized one of two female wolves that had settled near Jackson Hole, Wyoming in recent months. While it’s sad to hear the large white wolf was killed, ultimately a suburban environment like Jackson is not a great place for wolves to be. The longer they stick around, the more likely they are to get into trouble.

Wild wolves tend to keep their distance from people and generally are not a threat. Not a single person has been injured by wolves in the Rockies since they were reintroduced more than 15 years ago. But accidents can happen once wolves become habituated and lose their fear of people.

This incident is a good reminder that people living in wolf country can help protect wolves by scaring them away. Nonlethal hazing, such as yelling, or banging pots and pans, blowing airhorns, and shining lights, is a good way to make sure wild wolves maintain a healthy fear of humans and don’t come around again. Wolves are curious creatures but will usually head for the hills if they feel threatened, especially by humans.

RMEF pays feds to kill more wolves – The Missoulian reported this week that the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation gave $51,000 to Wildlife Services to target more wolves in response to livestock depredations. It’s strange that a wildlife organization is offering money to a federal agency to kill a native species in order to benefit the livestock industry. But the bigger issue is that killing wolves only perpetuates Wildlife Services outdated predator control strategies without addressing any of the underlying problems.

A better alternative is taking proactive steps to prevent conflict before problems arise. Using nonlethal deterrents and innovative husbandry practices is a much better long-term solution. Groups like Defenders of Wildlife and others have been investing in these types of projects for years with impressive results. For the last few years, federal legislation sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester has also made $1 million available annually to support wolf coexistence and livestock compensation in 10 western states. This funding goes a long way to helping ranchers purchase and implement the tools they need to coexist with all our native wildlife.

Three must-see wolf videos – In case you missed the premiere this week on PBS, you can now watch the full episode of River of No Return online (below). The stunning documentary follows Isaac and Bjornen Babcock on their year-long honeymoon tracking wolves through the central Idaho wilderness.

Watch River of No Return on PBS. See more from Nature.

Another fantastic feature-length documentary will be coming to theaters this summer, starting with the world premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 31. True Wolf tells the story of a couple that adopted a wolf and spent 16 years touring the country and educating people about wolves. Their story has never been more relevant for addressing the conflicted relationship of man and wolf.

Last but not least, here’s a heartwarming story about a wolf that was rescued in Italy after falling into freezing water. It’s hard to ignore the stark contrast between valiant efforts to keep this one wolf alive and aggressive efforts to eliminate wolves in the Northern Rockies.

A herder and his dogs keep their eyes on a flock of sheep in central Idaho's Wood River Valley.

Just in time for Earth Day, Defenders announced today that it spent over $300,000 in 2011 to help ranchers and communities coexist with wildlife and maintain a healthy environment.

Through our Wildlife Coexistence Partnership program, Defenders implemented or provided incentives for more than 100 projects in nine states across the country, including Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming, as well as Mexico. Projects included hiring range riders, creating buffer zones for prairie dogs, paying for electric fencing, purchasing bear-proof food lockers and dumpsters, purchasing trail cameras to document panther activity and compensating ranchers for lost livestock. These projects benefited prairie dogs, bison, gray wolves, grizzly bears, jaguars, polar bears, Florida panthers and Florida black bears.

“The nonlethal tools that we’re testing in places like Idaho, Oregon and Montana are showing that people really can share the landscape with wolves with a little extra effort,” says Suzanne Stone, Defenders Northern Rockies representative in Boise, Idaho. “Fladry, guard dogs, range riders—these basic deterrents have all proven effective when they’re given a chance. We’ve demonstrated that losses to wolves can be dropped to near zero levels if appropriate, proactive steps are taken to prevent conflict. Ranchers are able to safeguard their livestock while helping to maintain healthy populations of native wildlife.”

A relocation project at Thunder Basin National Grassland in eastern Wyoming has helped save prairie dogs from shooting and poisoning.. Photo by Lacy Gray.

“We recognize that living in areas with grizzly bears or roaming bison isn’t always easy. That’s why we’re investing in projects that benefit people and wildlife,” says Jonathan Proctor, Defenders Rocky Mountain representative in Missoula, Montana. “For example, we helped pay for dozens of projects to keep grizzly bears out of chicken coops, beehives, and trash, primarily by installing electric fencing. These methods work and can prevent conflict with minimal upfront cost to individual property owners.”

“By working together, we are able to bring imperiled wildlife back from the brink of extinction and ease the burden on livestock owners and ranchers,” says Craig Miller, Defenders Southwest representative in Tucson, Arizona. “Our coexistence projects offer a bright future for rare and unique wildlife such as wolves and jaguars and also for ranchers and landowners who are taking steps to help make that possible.”

“The Florida panther’s downward spiral toward extinction has been reversed in recent years and the number of cats has been growing. But for the population to continue to recover, it’s essential the endangered cats avoid conflicts with ranchers and livestock as well as pets and farm animals,” says Laurie Macdonald, Defenders Florida director in St. Petersburg. “By exploring coexistence, compensation and incentive programs that work for both panthers and property owners, we can find effective, long-term solutions that protect the big cats and preserve the Florida rancher’s way of life.”

Click to see a larger map of our 2011 Wildlife Coexistnece Partnership projects.

2011 Totals

Minimum number of proactive projects and incentives by region:

• Northern Rockies – 60
• Southwest and Mexico – 20
• Southeast (Florida) – 21
• Great Plains (Kansas & Wyoming) – 3

Number of compensation payments by region:

• Northern Rockies – 38
• Southwest and Mexico – 2

Minimum number of projects and incentives by species:

• Wolf – 34
• Grizzly bear – 39
• Prairie dog – 3
• Bison – 5
• Jaguar – 2
• Florida panther – 10
• Florida black bear – 11

Number of compensation payments by species:

• Grizzly bear – 31
• Wolf – 9

This Florida panther was caught on camera as part of a monitoring study.

Minimum amount spent on various project and incentive types:

• Fladry –$20,497
• Range riders – $65,960
• Technical field assistance, workshops and information – $126,509
• Compensation for livestock depredation – $56,650
• Dumpsters, garbage bins and food lockers – $17,483
• Fencing and buffers – $18,650

Read our full press release.