Coyote Conservation

We often hear that wolves are being "wasteful” if they do not consume most or all of a kill they make. Yet, nothing could be further from reality as wolf kills are a buffet for a rich and diverse community of scavengers, and anything wolves do not eat, scavengers will quickly take care. Indeed, even at kills where wolves consume virtually everything, like this deer kill from February, there are still small morsels that attract various scavengers for days after the kill. In particular, wolf kills provide substantial sustenance for birds such as ravens, eagles, gray jays, blue jays, magpies, and others. The other day we visited a freshly kill deer and there were over a dozen eagles and >20 ravens at the kill. It would be very interested to know what percent of eagle and raven diets during the winter in northern Minnesota come from wolf-killed prey. We would suspect a very high percentage. Then there are the mammalian scavengers such as foxes, fishers, martens, others weasels, raccoons, coyotes and so on. And this list of mammalian scavengers also includes other wolves. This deer was killed by the Thuja Pack on February 13 but the large wolf that visited the carcass on February 16, which had a very distinctive appearance, was a lone wolf that was not part of the pack. It is not uncommon for wolves to scavenge kills made by other wolves. We have seen many instances where a GPS-collared wolf will go spend time at the kill made by another GPS-collared wolf. Sometimes this can be wolves from one pack scavenging the kill of a neighboring pack, and other times it is a lone wolf scavenging a pack's kill, like this instance. And notably, wolves do almost entirely consume their kills for much of the year. But there are some instances, such as in severe winters, when wolves will consume less of carcasses because they are able to more readily kill deer. That said, even if wolves do not eat most of the carcass initially, they will return to the carcass come spring when deer are no longer easy for wolves to catch and kill. Check out some of our recent posts on scavenging by wolves for more information on this topic!

A historic day for Colorado and for the first time ever — we released 5 wolves, 3 males and 2 females, in Grand County today. Captured in Oregon, the wolves were evaluated by our veterinarians & biologists, fitted with GPS collars & transported to Colorado for their release.

@AbiluTangwa Striking photo. What are we looking at?

Mother Earth deserves a brighter future,and nature-based farming is leading the way. By sequestering atmospheric CO2 in soil, these small initiatives are making a tangible difference in reversing climate change. Let's win this battle together. #SustainableFarmingsystems.

First day of winter fieldwork looking for wolf kill sites in Šumava National Park ✅🐺🦌🧬 #wolfecology #fieldwork

@elonmusk @naturecognition Also tagging @TwitterComms

Paging @elonmusk - can we have your ear? Seeking reinstatement of admin account @naturecognition. (It's hard to get through to a real person. Are you willing to help?)

@tomdiserens Hello! Would you care for a Bluesky invitation? (Not spam, we promise.) There's a growing community of scientists and nature defenders. This is fascinating material.

A Polish army truck kills another two bison in Białowieża Forest, this time an adult female and calf ☹️ Will somebody ever train the army how to behave in this UNESCO world heritage site? wiadomosci.wp.pl/wojskowa-cieza…

Breach! Bull '34' from the 27s Northern Isles Community Orca pod getting airborne off Sumburgh Head, Shetland today. Absolutely spectacular!

Cats may be adored human companions, but they're wiping out more than 2,000 species globally – including 100s of conservation concern. Far from being 'part of nature' as many people think, cats (domestic + feral) are a massive HUMAN destroyer of nature. theguardian.com/environment/20…

Last year, a group of ragtag activists banded together to fight border wall construction in the AZ wilderness. They blocked equipment. They camped in the snow. They didn’t relent. AND THEY WON. Their victory marks the first border wall to *ever* be removed since the Berlin Wall.

@nywolforg @carlsafina @SierraClub Thank you for highlighting this vital piece of information. Wolves are "charismatic megafauna" who absolutely need protection - but so do less charismatic and well-known species.

1 of the greatest strengths of the ESA, our nation's bedrock environmental law that saves plants + wildlife from extinction, is that it doesn't only save pretty/charismatic species. It saves them all, as @carlsafina highlights. @SierraClub #ESA50 sierraclub.org/sierra/2023-4-…

Desert bobcats are tough as hell. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

COP28 is now on the verge of complete failure. The world desperately needs to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible, but this obsequious draft reads as if OPEC dictated it word for word. It is even worse than many had feared. It is “Of the Petrostates, By the Petrostates and For the Petrostates.” It is deeply offensive to all who have taken this process seriously. There are 24 hours left to show whose side the world is on: the side that wants to protect humanity’s future by kickstarting the orderly phase out of fossil fuels or the side of the petrostates and the leaders of the oil and gas companies that are fueling the historic climate catastrophe. In order to prevent COP28 from being the most embarrassing and dismal failure in 28 years of international climate negotiations, the final text must include clear language on phasing out fossil fuels. Anything else is a massive step backwards from where the world needs to be to truly address the climate crisis and make sure the 1.5°C goal doesn’t die in Dubai.

This is huge. This is absolutely monumental. We just shut down an event honoring Exxon CEO Darren Woods. The whole room fled. We showed up & prevented this monster from uttering a word. We will resist him with all we've got. There is no choice.

The gray wolves of Yellowstone are famous for ecological impacts, but what about red wolves? They are smaller and much rarer. Our new paper led by Alexa Murray used the tragic decline of red wolves over the last decade to see how other species responded 🧵 …lpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…

In New Hampshire there are coyote hound hunters. These primitive hunters let their hounds harass and chase coyotes, then finally corner the frightened, exhausted coyote. It is a barbaric practice and has no place in 2023! #BanHoundHunting #Coyote

The last native Irish rainforests are being killed by invasive sika deer + goats eating every last tree seedling. The EU is planning to classify sika as invasive, but here, deer hunting orgs are opposed. Why? They just want lots of stuff to shoot, and to *hell* with ecosystems.

@OWStarr @Aqutaq Charismatic indeed! (DM sent re: an invitation.)

Her Royal Highness, 👻🌶️🍦🐺@Aqutaq, our Arctic queen.

@WildlandsLeague Hello! Would you be interested in joining Bluesky? We have several invite codes available.

Whether you've donated, shared our message, or participated in our advocacy efforts in 2023, every action brings us closer to our goals of protecting 50% of Canada’s lands and waters. Thank YOU. If you still want to make a donation, it’s not too late: donorbox.org/wlgt2023

@MikeHudema Hello! Apologies for interrupting - would you happen to be interested in an invitation code for Bluesky?

Why doesn't every parking lot get a #solarpower upgrade? We have so many solutions to this crisis. Stop the delays and implement them. #ActOnClimate #Climate #energy #renewabels #RenewableEnergy #GreenNewDeal