Saturday, November 26, 2011

The alberta, Canada Government is refusing to address the fundamental causes for the decline of the woodland caribou herds.........Fundamental causes include habitat encroachment and increased human activity.................Without the political will and without the strength of political action to address the fundamental causes for the decline of woodland caribou, the killing of wolves becomes a marginal and insupportable method of preserving the caribou.......In fact, the wolf becomes the scapegoat for the lack of will on the part of the Progressive Conservative government to either stop human encroachment and industrial development in caribou habitat; or give up on maintaining the woodland caribou as a viable species in Alberta

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End pointless wolf cull focus on habitat encroachment The Alberta government endorses the killing of wolves to assist in maintaining the via...
Friday, November 25, 2011

John Davis of The Wildlands Project reinforcing Biologist John Laundre's(and Chris Spatz, he and Laundre belonging to Cougar Rewilding )call for Cougar rewilding in the East so as to help regenerate a badly deer induced denuding of the forest

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Bringing the Mountain Lion Back to the Adirondacks The Case for Cougars by PHIL BROWN While walking through the West Virginian highlands, J...

Our friend Lynn Murphy supplied this 2008 USA Today article documenting a confirmed gray wolf sighting in Massachusetts, one of several in New England over the past 20 years.........Declared extinct in Massachusetts in 1840, this prospector would have likely crossed the St. Lawrence River in Quebec............one heck of a journey through open farmland, rivers, highways and hunters rifles..............We likely have to assist these "lone wolves: with suitable mates if we want Eastern Wolves(and very likely a further hybridizing canid mix of wolf and coyote) back in our woodlands

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Rare gray wolf appears in Massachusetts  When more  than  a dozen lambs  and sheep were  slaughtered ...

Researchers ast Mississippi State U. are working with The Missouri Black Bear Project to help determine the size and dynamics of the regions Black Bears...........Both Missouri and Missippi have recolonizing populations likely originating from Arkansas and Louisana

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MSU researchers on prowl for bears Scientists at Mississippi State University are working with biologists in Missouri's Ozarks to get th...
Thursday, November 24, 2011

Louisa Wilcox and the many other Grizzly Bear advocates who feel that the Bears deserve continuing Endangered Species protection scored a "win" this week as the 9th Circuit Court ruled that climate change is negatively impacting one of the bears critical foodstuffs, Whitebark Pine seeds,,,,,,,,,,,,and therefore we need to give Bears more time to adapt to ancilliary food sources before federally delisting them..........

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A federal appeals court has told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service it cannot take away Endangered Species Act protection from grizzly bears...

Red wolf or coyote/wolf hybrid in Florida? Even the biologists cannot absolutely be sure of what species was photographed in and around Vero Beach, Florida

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Almost Extinct Red Wolf Found in Florida Woman's Backyard? The red wolf was declared extinct in 1980. So how did one wind up at Diane P...

I am always fascinated by the reactions the news media registers when human hunters accidently shoot or kill people.....Always a "terrible accident"(or in the case of Dick Cheney, comedians make jokes about it for weeks on end)............No calls by the media to stop hunting season,,,,,,,,No proclamations to disallow rifles from being sold..........Same thing applies to our pet dogs who rip up and kill more people each year than all of the wolves, coyotes, cougars, bears, etc, etc ever do....................But when one of our "wild cousins" does hurt and kill one of us,,,,,the offending species is made out to be the devil......made out to be ferocious and evil.............Something to ponder this holiday season and to know that our fear of the wild is so deeply ingrained at this point (most of us), that wildlife groups always enter into rewilding negotiations with one hand tied behind their back.........If somehow we can educate the populace and subsequently desensitize their "knee jerks" to animal attacks just a little bit, we will have better luck restoring our suite of native carnivores to North America

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Hunter shot in chest, two others injuried during opener A hunter dressed in a blaze orange jacket. MADISON, WI .At...
Wednesday, November 23, 2011

There are only two known diary descriptions of the 1621 event in Plymouth, Massachusetts that we have come to know and love as THANKSGIVING............“And God be praised we had a good increase… Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”--Edward Winslow, Mourt’s Relation: D.B. Heath, ed. Applewood Books. Cambridge, 1986. p 82.........“They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which is place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports"--William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation: S.E. Morison, ed. Knopf. N.Y., 1952. p 90...................390 years ago, the bounty of our great land was staggering in its plant, animal and mineral abundance ...........Let us hope on this Thanksgiving Day that we can find the resolve to rewild and revitalize our land, the critical foundation that makes us the strongest Country in the World.............Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

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Thanksgiving History Very little is known about the 1621 event in Plymouth that is the model for our Thanksgiving. The only references ...
Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Bozeman(Montana) Chronicle newspaper is conducting a poll on whether Montana Parks and Wildlife should extend the Wolf hunt past December............Cast your vote below............Thus far, a solid 72% are opposed to the extension

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Should the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks extend the wolf hunting season for an extra month as has been proposed? CLICK ...

Are generalist predators critical to maintaining optimum biodiversity?............. McGill University biologists have discovered that a "branching network" maintained by generalist species, like foxes or coyotes, that are able to move around and prey on different species in different locations, have an important role in promoting complex food webs and thereby in maintaining biodiversity............ The researchers concluded that these generalist species have the advantage of being able to find prey no matter where they are as they move from one place to another, and this sustains the network....This biodiversity theory also lays a foundation for understanding the effects human activities – like deforestation – which are likely to not only adversely impact single species, but to crater entire food webs. The researchers show how food webs are eroded by species extinction when disturbed by habitat destruction

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A new model for understanding biodiversity GENERALIST PREDATORS A CRITICAL FACTOR Animals like foxes and raccoons are highly adaptable. Th...

Texas Black Bear population surge (or) existing Bears coming into human habitats due to the recent drought (or) Mexican Bears wandering into Texas because fires ravaged their habitat??????

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Bear sightings becoming more common Animals may be looking for food SAN ANGELO, Texas —Black bears once freely roamed the Texas landscape ...
Monday, November 21, 2011

After virtual extermination, Bobcats have made a comeback in Iowa.......1500 to 2000 "Bobs" are thought tho inhabit the once prairie and now cornfield habitat of the State.......Our Consevation reserve program which pays farmers to keep some of their acreage in natural cover has assisted in the recovery of this necessary mesocarnivore, labeled as endangered in Iowaas recently as 1977.......The State furtrapping season which is underway, allows for a quota of 350 Bobcats to be taken, roughly 20% of the statewide population.............Seems a bit aggressive for a creature that was nearly off the map as recently as 2003........We restore animals and then shoot them to hell because the State Game Commissions are set up to be financed by hunters fees.............This must change(as discussed over and over again on this blog) if we are ever to have a true rewilding accomplished on our Continent

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Bobcat population edges up in southeast Iowa, DNR says Two bobcats play in the backyard of Steve and Judi Christianson several weeks ago...

Many of us are aware that Alan Rabinowitz and his fine PANTHERA wild cat conservation group is working diligently on getting South and Central American Governments to create a connective Jaguar "pathway" created that would stretch from Mexico to Patagonia...........What is missing from this plan is critical habitat in the USA, a historical home for the Jaguar up until the late 19th and early 20th Century.........."Jags" continue to be verified and spotted in the Arizona/New Mexico region over the past decade and now another confirmation in Southeastern Arizona has been recorded...........How do we get Mr. Rabinowitz and other Jaguar advocates to put pressure on the Obama admistration to implement the critical habitat plan that was created in 2010 for our "kill in one leap"(First Nations definition of Jaguar) magnificent Cat?

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Arizona hunter spots rare U.S.-Mexico borderlands jaguar PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - An Arizona hunter has made a rare confirmed sighting ...

An urgent request by the conservation group, FLORIDA FOREVER, to get the USFW to protect the 150,000 acres in Florida known as the "PANTHER GLADES" (which is North of Lake Okeechobee) protected as critical habitat for the 100 Cougars still in existance in South Florida

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Florida Panthers Ted Williams  Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to finish the job started by Florida Forever over 10 years ago. Pr...
Sunday, November 20, 2011

Our friend Stanley Gehrt last year published an authoritative book entitled URBAN CARNIVORES, including an incisive section on urban Red Foxes...........University of Bristol(UK) biologists have added to Stan's research in determining that In urban fox families, male cubs with dominant mothers disperse to avoid inbreeding while their sisters remain to enjoy the benefits of living with their dominant mother figure. The opposite pattern is observed for cubs born to subordinate mothers. Comparison of the dispersal strategies of cubs fathered by dominant males with those fathered by males outside of the family demonstrates that fathers appear to play no role in this decision..... .Sneaky matings outside the family(male foxes mating with females outside their home territories as well as those in their territory) mean that dispersal is not a reliable mechanism for preventing inbreeding between fathers and daughters....Consequently, control of cub dispersal is much more important for mothers than fathers

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Mother Knows Best for Urban Fox Families   In urban fox families, mothers determine which cubs get to stay and which must leave while father...

Louisiana black bear's have roughly doubled their population since 2006 from 600 to roughly 1000 Bruins......This subspecies of Black Bear is on the Endangered Species list and the BLACK BEAR CONSERVATION COALITION has worked hard with private landowners to create viable habitat and corridors for the Bears to spread out and multiply

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Coalition helps black bear numbers creep up     The Louisiana black bear, which is on the U.S. Endangered Species List and classified as thr...

High population densities of most creatures (yes, even homo sapiens) leads to the spread of disease and ultimately limiting of those populations in deadly ways....Natural predators (both large and small) can and will help to maintain the best, healthiest, balanced population densities – i.e. only if most homo sapiens can live and agree with nature's way of balancing wildlife populations.........It's a known fact that artificially high deer populations will impact many other wildlife populations in their habitat..

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EPIZOOTIC HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE (EHD) CONFIRMED AS CAUSE OF DEATH IN ROCKLAND COUNTY DEER            The New York State Department of Enviro...

Might we actually move forward positively on State Wildlife Management and Regulations if Nevada decides to do away with their Wildlife Commission????..........As so many of us have opined about over the past year, State Commissioners are politically appointed by Govenors who almost alway pay back campaign favors to hunting and livestock groups through these appointments.........No way carnivores get managed as benevolently as deer and elk until States have Game Commisions that are staffed by all stakeholders in wildlfie management, not just hunters, ranchers and mineral interests...Thumbs up to Nevada State Senator Sheila Leslie who wants to look at the Wildlife Commission because it has been mired in controversy and is dominated by pro-hunting members.....Govenor Gibbons was accused of packing the commission with pro hunters...... Commissioners last year established the state's first bear hunting season, enraging animal support groups and others

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Panel targets dropping 35 state boards, commissions   Nevada Legislature's Sunset Subcommittee targets Here are the state boards and c...

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD IN MONTANA AND GET FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS TO DROP PLANS FOR EXTENDING THE WOLF HUNT BEYOND DEC. 31............AS OUR FRIEND TONI STARK ELOQUENTLY STATES: ......"Bears are not hunted down during hibernation and there is no hunting when they have small cubs"........"Only male mountain lions are hunted from 12/31-4/14 and Female mountain lions with kittens can not be taken."........."These exceptions should be allowed for wolves, especially females with pups"

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From: Toni Stark < iamironwoman@gmail.com Date: Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 5:39 PM Subject: Please Do Not Extend the Wolf Hunting Season! To...

ATTENTION ALL IDAHO RESIDENTS THAT WANT A SOUND, SCIENTIFIC PLAN FOR WOLF MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTED IMMEDIATELY,,,,,,NOT THE "KILL BABY KILL" PARADIGM THAT IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT...........TOMORROW, NOV. 21 7PM COLE MARR COFFEE HOUSE ; 8TH AND MARKET IN BOISE...........HEAR AND SPEAK WITH IDFG WOLF MANGER JON RACHAEL AND LET HIM KNOW THAT SANITY MUST RETURN TO IDAHO WHEN IT COMES TO MANAGING WOLVES

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BOISE WOLF HUGGERS -   rare opportunity to talk to IDFG wolf mgr Jon Rachael, Monday, Nov. 21, at 7 pm, at the Cole Marr Coffee House in ...
Saturday, November 19, 2011

The anti-wolf/coyote biologist, Dr. Val Geist is quoted by Blog writer Tom Remington in his attempt to justify and rationalize why bountys are just, necessary and productive in dampening coyote populations----Nova Scotia, Canada continues to buy into the rationale that killing as many coyotes as possible protects people.....Flys in the face of all proven science......You can take out offending animals selectively and make a difference,,,,,,,,,,,,You are never going to kill all the coyotes and those who slip the bulllet and snare come back and "breed like rats", ultimately enlargening the songdog population with inexperienced juveniles who are more likely to get into tangles with us............WAKE UP WHITE PEOPLE--CHANGE YOUR WAYS

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Coyote Bounty Returns to Nova Scotia Tom Remington As part of a predator control program, in which the Nova Scotia government implemente...

A 6th Cougar(since 2007) has been verified by the Kansas Dept of Wildlife.......Our big cats are determined to spread their seed and multiply.............Up to us to give them a fighting chance to do so............Requires habitat preservation and political will........Can we muster the humanity and forsight to make it a reality?

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Sixth confirmed sighting of mountain lion in Kansas (ATCHISON COUNTY, Kan.)— The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism said Wed...