DOCSLIB.ORG

Issue 40 39 Summer Spring 2010

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Issue 40 39 Summer Spring 2010 WolfThe UK Wolf Conservation Trust PrintIssueIssue 40 39 Summer Spring 2010 • The Trust celebrates 15 years • Dakota • Wildwood Wolves • Les Loups du Gevaudan • Yellowstone ■ NEWS ■ EVENTS ■ MEDIA AND ARTS ■ REVIEWS The Trust celebrates 15 ISSUEyears 40 SUMMER 2010 1 Wolf Print Editor Toni Shelbourne Tel: 0118 971 3330 Email: [email protected] Assistant Editor Julia Bohanna Editorial Team Angela Barrow, Sandra Benson, Vicky Hughes, Tsa Palmer, Denise Taylor Published by The UK Wolf Conservation Trust Editor's Letter Butlers Farm, Beenham, Reading RG7 5NT Tel: 0118 971 3330 Fax: 0118 971 0522 t was a tough winter and a dramatic, sad spring at the UKWCT Email: [email protected] (see the wolf news section). We are now looking forward to Patrons the calm, hormone-free summer where the wolves are lazy and David Clement Davies I Erich Klinghammer gentle. As usual we are busy; each year I am amazed that we can Desmond Morris fit more into the same amount of time, but we do. We've noticed Michelle Paver over the rare, quiet periods that the wolves really miss the visitors, Christoph Promberger confirming that they love their work. The UK Wolf Conservation Trust Directors Nigel Bulmer Anne Carter This issue has the normal mix of UKWCT news with new Charles Hicks Sue Hull information about wolves around the world. Kirsty Peake gives Tsa Palmer us her insightful update about what's going on with the The UK Wolf Conservation Trust is a company Yellowstone wolves and Anne Riddell tells the history of the limited by guarantee. Registered in England & Wales. Wildwood wolves in Kent. Many of you will know that they are Company No. 3686061. related to Lunca and Latea. Apollo, their father, is in fact still alive The opinions expressed in this magazine are not and in charge of the pack. Life and Behaviour of wolves looks at necessarily those of the publishers or The UK Wolf the subject of self-medication. This research is unique in the wolf Conservation Trust. world and originated at the UKWCT, proving yet again that we are All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or in part, in English or other languages, is leaders in the care of captive wolves and contributing to the pot prohibited. The work may not be photocopied or otherwise of information about wild wolves. produced within the terms of any licence granted by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd or the Publishers Licensing Society Ltd. Other articles update you on some of the projects we support and Aims of the UK Wolf Conservation Trust where your donations have been used. It's not all comfortable · To enhance the conservation, scientific knowledge reading about the wild wolf population but it would be so much and public awareness of the environment. worse without your help. · To stimulate greater interest in wolves, their food, their habitat and their behaviour. We've got some great book reviews and new merchandise plus a · To provide opportunities for both ethological research and for people to interact with wolves. whole host of activities coming up for the summer and autumn of · To improve the changes of survival of European 2010. Don't forget to book early to avoid disappointment. wolves in the wild. · To provide education programmes for schools, Please send me ideas of what you might want to see in Wolf Print, conservationists and other organisations. or photos and articles that we could include in its pages. As usual, Cover Price - £3.50 the address to send them to is [email protected]. We can 3 issues - £14.00 inc P&P only accept photos and text electronically due to the lack of time Overseas subscriptions - £14.00 plus P&P. Please contact the UKWCT for overseas postage costs. we have to produce the magazine. Online subscription £10.00 - PDF download only. Please visit www.ukwolf.org Have a great summer. Design and artwork: Business Pluspoint www.businesspluspoint.co.uk Tel: 0118 988 5530 Toni Shelbourne email: [email protected] Printed by: Pensord, NP12 2YA. www.pensord.co.uk Education Officer / Senior Wolf Handler / Wolf Print Editor Printed on FSC paper from sustainable forest sources. This magazine is fully recyclable. By recycling magazines you can help to reduce waste and add to the millions of tonnes of paper already recycled every year by the UK paper industry. You can recycle paper through your home recycling collection scheme or at your local recycling centre. Visit Cover photo: Latea by Joan Paddick www.recyclenow.com and enter your postcode to find your nearest site. 2 UKWCT WOLF PRINT 5 7 Dakota, by Mikaela Wild of Thatcham Photographic Club Mai, by Danny Kirby Hunter 12 contents REGULARS 2 Editor's Letter 12 Life and Behaviour of Wolves Self-medication 22 Merchandise Wolf gifts, souvenirs and sale items 18 Making Tracks 14 Wolves in media and art NEWS 4 News from the Trust 5 Dakota - a tribute 8 Yellowstone update 10 Wolves of the World 26 Donation News FEATURES 14 Anniversary Celebrations Looking back over 15 years at the Trust 16 Conservation in Practice Pete Haswell reports from Bulgaria 20 The Wildwood Wolves A report by Anne Riddell of the Wildwood Trust 24 Les Loups du Gevaudan Darren Prescott visits a wolf sanctuary in France WHAT'S COMING UP 27 Special Events at the Trust 22 Open days, holiday activities, howl nights and more ISSUE 40 SUMMER 2010 3 Wolf NEWS: Update on the Trust Wolves uncle, who would never allow the girls' impatient to be off and getting their collars on dominance displays to get out of hand. Torak can be a bit of a dance as they charge around has a lot to learn and is usually the one to start getting excited about their walk. In 2010 we trouble or help it continue, with a glint in his are hoping to get them out for more members' eye as he piles into the melee. walks. They love the line-up and sniff everyone intently, but be warned ... they don't wait Latea and Lunca have had a few months to around for meet and greets, too many things adjust to the loss of their brother Alba back in to explore. Don't worry, we'll get other wolves January. It's been hard for them and they have out for you to interact with later. The Euro girls seemed a little subdued but very calm with really are special. Mosi and Mai - by Franca Knight each other. With Alba gone there was no It's all change at the UKWCT for the wolves: competition between the girls in the breeding this year's breeding season back in the spring season and the only ritualised aggression seen was packed full of surprises and drama. Over between them has been at feeding time. Even the past two years, Mosi has come into season this was low key and normal. It seems boys mid-February with Mai starting a few days really are the root of all ills in a pack. We were after. This was their first true breeding season worried about how they would get on without as mature wolves and it's seen a change of Alba to keep the peace, but they have been leadership between Mai and Mosi. As always, angels and probably the easiest wolves to deal it's the boys who cause all the trouble and with in the high octane hormone period of the when Mosi became receptive to Torak mating year. Before a recent enclosure swap, being her, which is around ten days after the season in the top enclosure, Latea continued her starts, he took full advantage and paired up self-appointed duty of meeting all the visitors with her. They tied several times and Mosi with a friendly wag of her tail and a wolfy grin took the opportunity to lord it over Mai with on her face. She rubs her body along the fence Torak backing her up. The end result was that line and shows everyone how relaxed our Mai was deposed as the dominant female. wolves can be around things like coaches, cars Mosi has always pushed her claim for the top and crowds of people. This greeting ceremony Duma - by Alvin Yap even cuts into her play time, to the disgust of Lunca, who at a recent Howl Night split her Duma has had a frustrating and difficult spring, time between looking in the window of the with the loss of her sister in April she has had Education room and inviting Latea to play. to live alone for the first time in her life; it's Latea was having none of it; she had people to never easy for a wolf to be without company. show of to. Lunca spent her time lying just We try to walk her daily and spend as much outside the observation window, either time as we can in the enclosure. She seems to pretending to dose off or howling, to the be more settled when housed next to the delight of the visitors. When she wasn't European girls Lunca and Latea in the double- howling or being nosey, she would invite Latea skinned enclosure but for now that is all we to play, performing the classic play bow, but can do for her. Mixing adult wolves is very Torak - by Alvin Yap Latea knew her priorities and still had people tricky so for her safety it's best for now that to welcome! she stays on her own and has time to get over position but until recently had been put down the trauma.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Return of the Wolves Implications of the Role of Top Predators in Terrestrial Ecosystems for the Return of Eurasian Wolf Canis Lupus Lupus to Western Europe
    Anne M.G. Kwak Return of the wolves Implications of the role of top predators in terrestrial ecosystems for the return of Eurasian wolf Canis lupus lupus to Western Europe Author Anne M.G. Kwak Radboud University Nijmegen E-mail: [email protected] Education Master Biology, track Communities & Ecosystems Radboud University Nijmegen Faculty of Science Heyendaalseweg 135 6525 AJ Nijmegen Phone: 024-365 26 61 Fax: 024-355 34 50 Website: www.ru.nl/fnwi Supervisor Prof. dr. H. (Hans) de Kroon Institute for Water and Wetland Research Radboud University Nijmegen Date October 2013 SUMMARY In many terrestrial ecosystems in Western Europe today, top predators are absent (Terborgh et al., 1999). Since top predators are considered to be important for the structure of ecosystems and their biodiversity, the absence of such species might have large impacts on these systems. In this thesis I want to investigate how the absence of top predators has affected terrestrial ecosystem trophic structure and biodiversity. The focus on terrestrial ecosystems comes forth from the fact that the Eurasian wolf Canis lupus lupus is currently expanding its range throughout Western Europe (Chapron et al., 2003; Randi, 2011). Here, I investigate how species like the Eurasian wolf might affect our ecosystems when they spread further, and what the implications of these effects are for the management of our ecosystems and of the Eurasian wolf. Carnivores can be assigned the role of keystone species, where they create ecological boundaries that protect lesser competitors from exclusion (Miller et al., 2001). In this role of keystone species, carnivores are also capable of increasing plant biomass through their limiting effect on herbivore numbers, causing both plants and carnivores to flourish (Miller et al., 2001).
    [Show full text]
  • Science Journals
    RESEARCH ARTICLE EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS 2016 © The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. Distributed Whole-genome sequence analysis shows that two under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). endemic species of North American wolf are 10.1126/sciadv.1501714 admixtures of the coyote and gray wolf Bridgett M. vonHoldt,1 James A. Cahill,2 Zhenxin Fan,3 Ilan Gronau,4 Jacqueline Robinson,5 John P. Pollinger,5 Beth Shapiro,2 Jeff Wall,6 Robert K. Wayne5* Protection of populations comprising admixed genomes is a challenge under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which is regarded as the most powerful species protection legislation ever passed in the United States but lacks specific provisions for hybrids. The eastern wolf is a newly recognized wolf-like species that is highly admixed and inhabits the Great Lakes and eastern United States, a region previously thought to be included in the geographic Downloaded from range of only the gray wolf. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has argued that the presence of the eastern wolf, rather than the gray wolf, in this area is grounds for removing ESA protection (delisting) from the gray wolf across its geographic range. In contrast, the red wolf from the southeastern United States was one of the first species pro- tected under the ESA and was protected despite admixture with coyotes. We use whole-genome sequence data to demonstrate a lack of unique ancestry in eastern and red wolves that would not be expected if they represented long divergent North American lineages.
    [Show full text]
  • The Trust Welcomes Three New Residents…
    WolfThe UK Wolf Conservation Trust PrintIssue 43 Summer 2011 The Trust welcomes three new residents… …but says goodbye to Latea • Bulgaria project update • Jim McNeill returns to Ellesmere Island • Canis lupus soupus: the classification of wolves ■ NEWS ■ EVENTS ■ MEDIA AND ARTS ■ REVIEWS Wolf Print Editor Vicky Allison-Hughes Tel: 0118 971 3330 Email: [email protected] Assistant Editor Julia Bohanna Editorial Team Angela Barrow, Lynn Kent Tsa Palmer, Denise Taylor Editor's Published by The UK Wolf Conservation Trust Butlers Farm, Beenham, Reading, RG7 5NT Tel: 0118 971 3330 Fax: 0118 971 0522 Letter Email: [email protected] Patrons Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams elcome to the summer edition of Wolf Print. We've had a busy David Clement-Davies spring at the Trust with many changes, some of which are Cornelia 'Neil' Hutt physical, such as additional fencing and restricted areas ready Erich Klinghammer W Desmond Morris to quarantine the expected Arctic wolf cubs. The pole barn is finally Marco Musiani finished and now just needs the displays installing. This will happen once Michelle Paver our newest arrivals – Tala, Tundra and Nuka – have moved out; read on The UK Wolf Conservation Trust Directors in the director's letter to find out more about them. Nigel Bulmer Anne Carter I've had the privilege of representing the Trust at two different events Charles Hicks Sue Hull over the last few months, Clive Readings (the Trust’s wolf keeper) and I Tsa Palmer attended the ABWAK (Association of British Wild Animal Keepers) conference in March at Port Lympne Wildlife Park (see page 6 for further Specialist Advisors Alistair Bath details).
    [Show full text]
  • The Carpathian Mountains: a Refuge for Wildlife and a “Paradise” for the People of Slovakia by Ted Bailey
    Refuge Notebook • Vol. 7, No. 30 • August 5, 2005 The Carpathian Mountains: A refuge for wildlife and a “paradise” for the people of Slovakia by Ted Bailey Although the fireweed was in bloom and brown half the size of state of Kentucky. It is also a relatively bears, wolves, lynx roamed the surrounding forests; new country having gained its most recent indepen- we were not hiking on the Kenai Peninsula or even in dence a mere twelve years ago after the collapse of Alaska. Despite the similarities we were thousands of the Soviet Union. And Slovakia joined the European miles away in Central Europe’s Carpathian Mountains Union in 2004 only a year ago. The huge, stark, tall and in eastern Slovakia. My wife, daughter and I had trav- gray housing complexes built in the country’s largest eled here in July to find four little villages where my cities of Bratislava and Kosice during the communist grandparents lived over a hundred years ago before era contrasted with the beautifully restored old city they emigrated at a young age to America in search centers where Gothic cathedrals and old palaces are of a better life. We eventually found the villages as attractions for visitors. we traveled by car throughout the eastern regions of One day we hiked a trail into the Slovensky Raj, Slovakia known as Spis and Zemplin. Spis is a moun- one of nine national parks and fourteen protected na- tainous region that borders the southern boundary of ture territories in Slovakia. The park was the first pro- Poland.
    [Show full text]
  • Wolves at the Door (And Bears, and Lynx)
    WOLVES AT THE Europe’s big carnivores are back and causing a rumpus. Henry DOOR Nicholls reports (AND BEARS, AND LYNX) MIHA KROFELMIHA 40 | NewScientist | 9 August 2014 140809_f_Big Beasts.indd 40 04/08/2014 11:13 OBODY will ever know why Slavc species on which carnivores depend. “The abandoned his family. But in the winter carnivores didn’t hang around,” says John Nof 2011, the young male wolf left his Linnell of the Norwegian Institute for Nature home territory and began an epic trek. He had Research in Trondheim and a member of spent the first years of his life meandering the International Union for Conservation of through the forests of southern Slovenia, Nature’s Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe. occasionally straying into Croatia. Then, as “They just said ‘thank you’.” Christmas approached, he struck out towards As well as natural expansion there were the north, alone. also some deliberate reintroductions – lynx Slavc was one of an estimated 4000 wolves to several areas of central Europe in the 1970s living on the Balkan peninsula of south- and 1980s, for example, and bears to the eastern Europe, a continent not usually known Pyrenees and Italian Alps in the 90s. With a for its big, fierce predators. Twenty years ago few exceptions, populations are now stable that was quite right, but no longer. Europe – or growing (see maps, page 43). the most urbanised, industrialised and farmed Wolves in particular continue to recolonise continent on Earth – is now home to some former territories. In 2012, birdwatchers in Thy 12,000 wolves, 17,000 brown bears and 9000 National Park in northern Denmark reported Eurasian lynx.
    [Show full text]
  • Wolf to the German State of Lower Saxony EXPEDITION REPORT
    EXPEDITION REPORT Expedition dates: 23 June – 6 July 2018 Report published: May 2019 Love / hate relationships: Monitoring the return of the wolf to the German state of Lower Saxony EXPEDITION REPORT Love / hate relationships: Monitoring the return of the wolf to the German state of Lower Saxony Expedition dates: 23 June – 06 July 2018 Report published: May 2019 Authors: Peter Schütte Wolf commissioner Matthias Hammer (editor) Biosphere Expeditions 1 © Biosphere Expeditions, a not-for-profit conservation organisation registered in Australia, England, France, Germany, Ireland, USA Member of the United Nations Environment Programme's Governing Council & Global Ministerial Environment Forum Member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature ABSTRACT This report details wolf (Canis lupus lupus) active monitoring fieldwork by Biosphere Expeditions in collaboration with the State Wolf Bureau of the German state of Lower Saxony and local wolf commissioners. Field work was conducted from 23 June to 6 July 2018 in two one-week long groups comprising twelve citizen scientists. The aim of the expedition was to collect samples for DNA and dietary analyses. This was done by sending small groups into the field to search for scat samples. 24 citizen scientists took part in the expedition, 16 from Germany or its immediate neighbour states (67%) with two of them (8%) from Lower Saxony, three people each from North America and the United Kingdom (12.5%), as well as one person each from Iceland and Australia (4%). Before commencement of field work, which was exclusively conducted on public paths and bridleways, citizen scientists were trained for 1.5 days in sample detection, sampling and data collection techniques.
    [Show full text]
  • Proceedings of the 2Nd International Jackal Symposium, Marathon Bay, Attiki Province, Greece Hell
    Ελληνικό Ζωολογικό Αρχείο Hellenic Zoological Archives Number 9, November 2018 The book with the scientific papers of the second international symposium dedicated to the golden jackal and related species 2nd International Jackal Symposium Marathon Bay, Attiki Greece, 31 Oct-2 Nov 2018 With the endorsement of the IUCN Canid Specialist Group The book includes works on the golden jackal, wolf, coyote, Ethiopian wolf, African wolf, side-striped jackal and black-backed jackal species. ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΖΩΟΛΟΓΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ HELLENIC ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY Proceedings of the 2nd International Jackal Symposium, Marathon Bay, Attiki Province, Greece Hell. Zool. Arch., No. 9 Nov 2018 ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΖΩΟΛΟΓΙΚΟ ΑΡΧΕΙΟ HELLENIC ZOOLOGICAL ARCHIVES Το Ελληνικό Ζωολογικό Αρχείο είναι ένα διεθνές The Hellenic Zoological Archives is an περιοδικό που δημοσιεύει εργασίες που αφορούν την international journal that publishes articles related πανίδα της Ελλάδας και οι οποίες περιλαμβάνουν to the fauna of Greece, which contain background βασικά δεδομένα απαραίτητα για τη γνώση της. data necessary for its knowledge. Such articles can Τέτοιες εργασίες μπορεί να είναι βιβλιογραφίες, be bibliographies, lists of species, tables with data, κατάλογοι ειδών, πίνακες δεδομένων, μετρήσεων και observations etc. παρατηρήσεων κ.ά. The articles are published in English in separate Οι εργασίες δημοσιεύονται στα αγγλικά σε fascicules at irregular intervals. They include the ξεχωριστά τεύχη, σε μη τακτά διαστήματα. title, the author/s, their addresses, a summary (in Περιλαμβάνουν τίτλο, συγγραφέα/είς, διεύθυνση, Greek and English; the Editors can provide ελληνική και αγγλική περίληψη, εισαγωγή, κυρίως assistance with the translation if needed), an θέμα και βιβλιογραφία. Οι εργασίες γίνονται δεκτές introduction, the main text and the references.
    [Show full text]
  • Improving Individual Identification of Wolves (Canis Lupus) Using the Fundamental Frequency and Amplitude of Their Howls: a New Survey Method
    Improving Individual Identification of Wolves (Canis lupus) using the Fundamental Frequency and Amplitude of their Howls: A New Survey Method Holly Root-Gutteridge A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2013 1 This works is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed in the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights. 2 Abstract Many bioacoustic studies have been able to identify individual mammals from variations in the fundamental frequency (F0) of their vocalizations. Other characteristics of vocalization which encode individuality, such as amplitude, are less frequently used because of problems with background noise and recording fidelity over distance. In this thesis, I investigate whether the inclusion of amplitude variables improves the accuracy of individual howl identification in captive Eastern grey wolves (Canis lupus lycaon). I also explore whether the use of a bespoke code to extract the howl features, combined with histogram-derived principal component analysis (PCA) values, can improve current individual wolf howl identification accuracies. From a total of 89 solo howls from six captive individuals, where distances between wolf and observer were short, I achieved 95.5% (+9.0% improvement) individual identification accuracy of captive wolves using discriminant function analysis (DFA) to classify simple scalar variables of F0 and normalized amplitudes.
    [Show full text]
  • Presentation Title
    World Environment Day 2017 World Environment Day 2017 THEME: Connecting People to Nature THEME:Tool Box Wastewater Talk VeoliaTool Middle Box Talk East Veolia Middle East Each World Environment Day is organized around a theme that focuses attention on a particularly pressing environmental concern. The theme for 2017, ‘Connecting People to Nature’, urges us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it. It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish this vital relationship. Nature’s gifts are often hard to value in monetary terms. Like clean air, they are often Billions of rural people around the world spend every taken for granted, at least until they become working day ‘connected to nature’ and appreciate full well scarce. However, economists are developing their dependence on natural water supplies and how nature ways to measure the multi-trillion-dollar worth provides their livelihoods in the form of fertile soil. They are of many so-called ‘ecosystem services’, from among the first to suffer when ecosystems are threatened, insects pollinating fruit trees to the leisure, whether by pollution, climate change or over-exploitation. health and spiritual benefits of a hike up a valley. WATCH THESE VIDEOS !!! Click on images The Veolia Tool Kit for World Environment Day is to raise awareness on the environment and biodiversity protection! Station 1 • Veolia & the Environment The idea is an Interactive Roadshow/Workshop Format with different Station 2 • Protected areas in the region people at each station to present the subject: • Each has a station and presents the different facts, devices and challenges • Teams walk around the stations and Station 3 • Game - Animal per nationality speak to each of the stations Station 4 • How can you help ? There are about 1500 protected areas in the 22 countries of the region (Middle East & North Africa), but only five countries have protected more than 10% of their land.
    [Show full text]
  • Genomic Characterization of the Italian Wolf (Canis Lupus )
    Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Biodiversity and Evolution Genomic characterization of the Italian wolf (Canis lupus): the genes involved in black coat colour determination and application of microarray technique for SNPs detection. Candidate: Dott. CLAUDIA GRECO PhD Coordinator: PhD Advisor: Prof. GIOVANNI CRISTOFOLINI Prof. ETTORE RANDI CYCLE XXI 2009 Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale DOTTORATO DI RICERCA Biodiversità ed Evoluzione Ciclo XXI Settore scientifico disciplinare di afferenza: BIO/05 ZOOLOGIA Genomic characterization of the Italian wolf (Canis lupus): the genes involved in black coat colour determination and application of microarray technique for SNPs detection. Presentata da: Dott. CLAUDIA GRECO Coordinatore Dottorato: Relatore: Prof. GIOVANNI CRISTOFOLINI Prof. ETTORE RANDI Esame finale 18.05.2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS I – ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS ........................................................................... Pag. I II – INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. “ II 1 – BACKGROUND .................................................................................................... “ 1 1.1 STATUS OF KNOWLEDGE ON WOLF AND DOG .................................... “ 1 1.1.1 Wolf ........................................................................................................ “ 1 1.1.2 Historical and current wolf distribution ...............................................
    [Show full text]
  • Iranian Wolf in Northern Iran’S Golestan National Park
    THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER VOLUME 19, NO. 3 FALL 2009 Features Departments Insurance for the 3 From the 4 Genetic Future of the Executive Director Endangered Mexican Wolf 15 Tracking the Pack The Director of Research at the St. Louis Zoo discusses her team’s fascinating work with captive breeding and the reproduc- 17 Wolves of the World allon F tive management of the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf. Book Review Jackie Cheryl Asa, Ph.D. 20 Straight Talk from Ed Bangs 21 Personal Experience 8 The Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the northern Rockies takes 23 A Look Beyond on the tough questions about wolf recovery and management in the West. Ed Bangs On the Cover A Close Encounter An Iranian wolf in northern Iran’s Golestan National Park. 17 with a Rare Wolf Photo by Edwin Winkel. While driving through a blinding snowstorm in northern Iran, a Edwin Winkel is a Dutch wildlife wildlife photographer suddenly sees an elusive Iranian wolf. photographer and journalist, who specializes in photographing Edwin Winkel nearctic (North American) and palearctic (Eurasian) animals. Contact Edwin at [email protected]. dwin Winkel E Did you know... one easy way for you to help us conserve natural resources is to make sure we have your email address Simply email your address to: [email protected] allon F Jackie What secrets did the wolves of the High Arctic reveal? id the researchers find a wolf pack to observe? Did the pack have pups? Were abundant numbers of muskoxen and arctic hares present on the vast, rugged expanses of land here in the farthest Publications Director Dreaches of the north? Mary Ortiz Veteran Ellesmere biologists Dave Mech and Dean Cluff sought answers Magazine Coordinator to these questions and more as they began Dave’s 24th consecutive year of Sharon Reed the Ellesmere Island Arctic Wolf Research Expedition July 3 – 17, 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • The Grey Wolf in Iraq: Notes on Its Current Distribution, Major Threats and Conservation Status
    Al-Sheikhly et al. Grey wolf in Iraq Copyright © 2020 by the IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group. ISSN 1478-2677 Distribution update The grey wolf in Iraq: notes on its current distribution, major threats and conservation status Omar F. Al-Sheikhly1*, Mukhtar K. Haba2, Laith A. Al-Obeidi3 and Husham K. Abdulzahra4 1 Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq. Email: [email protected] 2 Department of Biology, College of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq. 3 Independent Researcher, Al-Qadissiyah, Iraq. 4 Independent Researcher, Basra, Iraq. * Correspondence author Keywords: hunting; melanism; protected areas; steppe mammals; trapping. Abstract The grey wolf Canis lupus is a flagship carnivore still roaming the mountains, steppes, marshland fringes, and deserts of Iraq. However, its current distribution, population size, and potential threats are little known. Evidence of the confirmed occurrence of the grey wolf in Iraq (e.g. confirmed sightings, dead/live specimens, tracks, scats, wolf attacks, and dens) were collected from April 2017 to May 2020. The species' current occurrence was confirmed in 89 sites distributed across 13 provinces. Grey wolves were sighted at 49 (55%) sites, persecuted at 31 (35%) sites, and had reliably confirmed occurrence at 81 (91%) sites throughout Iraq. The uncontrolled poaching is highlighted as a major threat for the species in Iraq. In addition, the capture/collection of grey wolf pups from the wild is documented as a new threat to the species’ population. Furthermore, melanism in grey wolves is reported for the first time in Iraq, a phenotype targeted by locals wherever possible.
    [Show full text]