Wolf Pup Born in Missouri Offers Hope for Breed
(24 Apr 2017) A Mexican wolf born this month at a wildlife center in suburban St. Louis is offering new hope for repopulating the endangered species through artificial insemination using frozen sperm.
The Mexican wolf population once roamed Mexico and the western U.S. in the thousands but was nearly wiped out by the 1970s, largely from decades of hunting, trapping and poisoning. Commonly known as El Lobos, the species, distinguished by a smaller, more narrow skull and its gray and brown coloring, was designated an endangered species in 1976.
Even today, only 130 Mexican wolves live in the wild and another 220 live in captivity, including 20 at the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, Missouri.
A litter of Mexican wolves was conceived by artificial insemination in Mexico in 2014. But the birth April 2 at the Missouri center was the first-ever for the breed using frozen semen.
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Wolf In Missouri Ozarks
I believe this is a wolf. Could possibly be a large coyote but is unlikely as they only get to about 30 pounds in this state. Could possibly be a coywolf. This is about 8 miles NW of Lebanon, MO and about 4 miles NE of Bennett Springs.
Actress Betty White Supports the Endangered Wolf Center
Actress Betty White has a long record of being an animal lover and wolves are one of her favorite animals. Check out this video to learn why she supports the important conservation work being done right now at the Endangered Wolf Center in St. Louis, Mo.
ADORABLE!! Video of Wolf Pups Born at the Zoo as Part of Conservation Plan
The Arizona Center for Nature Conservation (ACNC)/Phoenix Zoo is excited to announce the arrival of a litter of Mexican gray wolf pups. ACNC/Phoenix Zoo staff had noted female Mexican wolf Tazanna, denning and shortly thereafter were able to confirm the birth of six pups in early May.
Parents are raising the pups without interference from staff, so until a first neonate exam is done by Zoo veterinary staff at an appropriate age, the family will not be disturbed.
“The parents are doing a great job caring for their pups,” Angela Comedy, ACNC/Phoenix Zoo Carnivore Collection Manager said. “It is a delicate process and they have certainly risen to the occasion.”
This birth is part of a cooperative breeding program between the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Mexican Gray Wolf Species Survival Plan™ and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wolf Recovery Plan, which aims to restore Mexican gray wolves to their native southwest territory, including Arizona. The Phoenix Zoo has been active in the Mexican Gray Wolf SSP and USFWS Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan for quite a few years, although several of the wolves at the Zoo in the past have been single-sex groups or geriatric animals. With the arrival of a young pair of wolves in 2017, the Zoo looked forward to the possibility of Mexican gray wolf breeding and offspring for the first time in several years.
Parents Tulio and Tazanna are 3 years old. The male, Tulio, was born in May 2016 at the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, Missouri. Tazanna was also born in May 2016, but at the California Wolf Center in Julian, California. The pair arrived at the Zoo on the same day in November 2017.
The duo was a recommended pairing by the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan™ for breeding. Both wolves were instantly compatible when introduced to each other in 2017. Breeding season usually starts from the last week of January through mid-April and gestation takes 60 – 63 days with an average litter size of 4 – 5 pups.
“Fortifying the Mexican gray wolf population has been a reachable goal for some time now,” says Bert Castro, President and CEO of the ACNC/Phoenix Zoo. “It’s a rarity to spot one of these elusive ‘lobos’ in the wild. Their population is endangered while conservationists have fathomed a possible, looming extinction. To this end, we are proud to invest in this conservation effort.”
131 wild individuals were reported in 2018, which is a 12 percent increase in the population over the previous year, yet still garnering an endangered classification. Their original home range spanned Central Mexico to southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico and western Texas. Now they have been reduced to small restricted areas in New Mexico and Arizona. The reason for the unfortunate number of wolves is due to extirpation in the mid-1900s. Targeted because of intense predator control by the federal government, the howl of the Mexican gray wolf is now silenced throughout the wild ranges where they once thrived.
With just over 300 individual Mexican gray wolves distributed among 53 institutions in the United States and Mexico, there is still hope for wild repopulation with the influx of modern conservation collaborations. In 1976, the Mexican gray wolf was listed under the Endangered Species Act and the need for advocacy came to light. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mexico and partner agencies subsequently created a binational breeding program to reestablish wild populations. These efforts are still going strong today.
The goal of the managed breeding program is to make the most genetically diverse matches to support the continued health of Mexican wolf populations in human care and the wild. Zoo populations like the wolves at the Phoenix Zoo help support the ongoing genetic health of wild wolves.
The pups and their mother spend time in their den, but as they grow older and larger, they may be spotted with more regularity throughout the habitat.
Jaclyn Shaw Roadtrip Nation
On April 25th, 2019 I interviewed Aileen Abbott of the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka Missouri.
Black bear population in Missouri has nearly doubled in the last 7 years
In 2012 at the beginning of their black bear study, the Missouri Department of Conservation estimated there were 350 black bears in the state.
Wolf Pup Born in Missouri Offers Hope for Breed
(24 Apr 2017) A Mexican wolf born this month at a wildlife center in suburban St. Louis is offering new hope for repopulating the endangered species through artificial insemination using frozen sperm.
The Mexican wolf population once roamed Mexico and the western U.S. in the thousands but was nearly wiped out by the 1970s, largely from decades of hunting, trapping and poisoning. Commonly known as El Lobos, the species, distinguished by a smaller, more narrow skull and its gray and brown coloring, was designated an endangered species in 1976.
Even today, only 130 Mexican wolves live in the wild and another 220 live in captivity, including 20 at the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, Missouri.
A litter of Mexican wolves was conceived by artificial insemination in Mexico in 2014. But the birth April 2 at the Missouri center was the first-ever for the breed using frozen semen.
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Find out more about AP Archive:
Snow St Patricks Day 2013 Wolf Point, Montana
Howling coyotes
Hunter's Specialties Pro Heath Wood explains how to howl coyotes in southern Missouri
BADGER VS. HUMAN (CRAZY)
Watch Neal Hunt and the Soar No More Crew as they catch a wild badger with gloved hands, a sheet, and a dog kennel. Most amazing badger films caught on tape!
The badger was digging holes in a farmers field, which is dangerous to the farmer, and his equipment. The badger was relocated to avoid potential harm to the farmer, and the animal.
To see Neal take on rattlesnakes, click here:
FAQs
-Is that Matt Damon?
No. That is Neal Hunt
-Why can’t you leave it alone!?
The badger was digging holes in a farmers field, which is dangerous to the farmer, and his equipment. The badger was relocated to avoid potential harm to the farmer, and the animal.
-What did you do with the badger?
The badger was released on BLM land a couple of miles from where it was captured. The land was flush with ground-squirrels, and rabbits, and contained very little badger sign that would indicate a competition for the territory.
-How dare you!?
The farmer had a badger problem, that would eventually lead to injury to livestock, damaged farm equipment, and the death of the badger. The farmer gets rid of a nuisance, and the badger got a new, safer home.
-That’s illegal! Aren’t badgers endangered/protected?
Exactly zero laws were broken in the removal, and relocation of this animal. American Badgers are not a protected species. In Idaho, they are classified as a predator species, and can be hunted, trapped, and killed year round, without limit, and have no meat or fur use requirements. However, in this case, the badger was not killed, or harmed. It was removed.
What about the badger’s babies?
The badger was a juvenile male who was attempting to establish his own territory, and thus was without pups. However, even if he had been a breeding female, there would have been no babies: this video was taken in November. Badgers have a delayed gestation, and do not give birth until early spring. By late fall, the young ones would no longer be dependent on their mother.
-What music is that?
The music is called Chase Pulse by Kevin MacLeod.
-How would you like it if someone relocated you?
If I was causing damage to someone’s property that is used to create food for you, your family, and everyone else, and was in danger of being shot by a farmer, or run over by a tractor, I would be very appreciative of being removed from the situation. Unfortunately, seeing as how badgers are badgers, there was not a way to reason with the little guy, and explain what was going on, and why it needed to happen. That's why animals can't get arrested for trespassing. And that's why he needed to be removed against his will; he couldn't understand the full scope of the situation.
-Why are there so many dislikes and negative comments?
People either don’t read video descriptions, or don’t understand how things actually function on planet earth, and all of those people like to congregate on YouTube together.
-Is that a honey badger?
No, it is an American badger.
-Do honey badgers give a shit?
Absolutely not.
-Why didn’t you use tranquilizers?
We are not vets, and do not know the correct dosage, nor have access to the appropriate tranquilizers for a badger. Without such knowledge, we would potentially cause the badger more harm than capturing him with a sheet.
-Why were you wearing camo?
To hide from your mom. She wouldn’t stop calling us.
-Scavenging?
Yes. Can you believe it? Someone mispronounced something in a non-scripted single-take of a video. He might be the only person to ever do that, so that makes him a pioneer.
-What don’t we need?
No stinkin’ badgers.