Captive Carnivores Not Up To Wild Living

Captive Carnivores Not Up To Wild Living. Science Daily.

This article shows that like the Mexican wolves, extinct in the wild, it is difficult to reintroduce a species. They tend to be killed far too often by human shootings and car accidents.

The wild wolves brought to Idaho and Yellowstone and the wild lynx from Canada to Colorado are by far the best way to do it.

Pneumonia strikes Montana bighorn sheep

The entire herd in the Elkhorn Mountains near Helena might die. Once again the suspect is domestic sheep (this is according to the article below).

Pneumonia strikes bighorn sheep. By Eve Byron. Helena Independent Record.

Aerial wolf hunt clash goes underground

Aerial hunt clash goes underground. Ads from conservation group back proposed federal prohibition. By Erika Bolstad.

“Alaskans voted twice to ban aerial hunting, and the vote has been overturned twice,” said Jessica Brand, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Defenders of Wildlife. “The only way to end this once and for all is to close the loophole in federal legislation.”

Wildlife Services doing their work

The photo was taken by an unknown person on 9-26-06.

These wolves were shot from the air in Danskin Mountains, a vast rugged area of low, steep mountains NE of Boise. I could never found out what these wolves supposedly did, although in August 2006 Ed Bangs reported “On the 15th, an ID WS aircrew spotted one black adult wolf and two pups on a calf carcass on Danskin Ridge.

Wolf control for livestock has deteriorated in recent years. They used to try to remove the offending wolf. Now they just kill a few wolves in the area if they can find some — vengeance killing. There is a rumor that their new informal protocol is to kill two wolves for every head of livestock killed, even day old cow calves and lambs.

Chuck Carpenter is the district supervisor for central Idaho for the U.S. Wildlife Services.

Salt Lake Tribune: Sayonara cyanide: Poison land mines should be banned

This is today’s SLC Tribune editorial against continuing use of ranchers getting to use cyanide and 1080.

Predators Do More Than Kill Prey

Predation does more than affect ecosystem dynamics, it also shapes the evolution of prey species.

Predators Do More Than Kill Prey. Science Daily.

U.S. Given Poor Marks on the Environment

U.S. Given Poor Marks on the Environment. By Felicity Barringer. New York Times.

“A new international ranking of environmental performance puts the United States at the bottom of the Group of 8 industrialized nations and 39th among the 149 countries on the list.”