Tag: Wolves

Watch: North Carolina zoo welcomes litters of endangered red wolf pups

Paws-itively adorable.

Nine new puppies have entered the world, and they’re already supporting a good cause. On May 9, the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, North Carolina, announced the birth of two litters of red wolf pups. Their arrival is part of the American Red Wolf SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program.

The red wolf is considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), “about 15 to 17 red wolves roam their native habitats in eastern North Carolina as a nonessential experimental population, and approximately 235 red wolves are maintained in 49 Red Wolf SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) facilities throughout the United States.”

Watch the adorable pups experience their 24-hour checkup in the video below.

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In a tweet announcing the births, the North Carolina Zoo explained that the two litters came from two different wolf pairs. Red wolves Marsh and Roan welcomed a litter of three pups, while Denali and May produced six pups. The video above shows Denali and May’s litter of six.

As the zoo explained via Twitter, “during their 24-hour checkup, the pups are visually checked to ensure they appear healthy and hydrated. They are checked for heart murmurs and a cleft palate to ensure they have the suckle reflex so they can nurse properly.” Veterinary staff will continue checking the litter every two weeks.

What happens to these pups when they grow to adulthood? Each puppy is a candidate for being released into the wild. As part of the American Red Wolf SAFE program, these pups can help boost the red wolf population.

As the FWS explains on its Red Wolf Recovery Program page, “Captive breeding saved the red wolf from extinction and is an essential component of red wolf recovery. Past releases of red wolves from the population under human care into the ENC RWP [Eastern North Carolina Red Wolf Population] helped the wild red wolf population reach a peak of 120 animals in 2012.”

Brighton showed up on Saturday…Wolves, not so much

Wolves hit the snooze button, and Brighton made them pay

You can’t take a day off in the Premier League.

That’s the lesson Wolves learned Saturday as they were obliterated 6-0 by Brighton. Denis Undav, Pascal Gross, and Danny Welbeck all notched braces as the high-flying Seagulls underlined their credentials for a spot in Europe next season.

It’s not like this one got away from Wolves after a while, either. They started poorly and fell behind just six minutes in, with Undav tapping in after Welbeck flicked Joël Veltman’s low cross past a flat-footed Wolves defense.

Seven minutes later, things got worse for the visitors as Brighton doubled their lead. Wolves walked right into where Brighton wanted them, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side forcing a turnover and breaking away at speed from midfield. Gross eventually provided the finish after an inch-perfect pass from Julio Enciso.

It should have been a cue for Wolves to wake up and join the game, but they collectively hit the snooze button. In the 26th minute, they paid the price as Gross turned an iffy first touch into a sumptuous volley past José Sá to make it 3-0.

As this one flew by, the Wolves goalkeeper may have started to realize that he was looking at a very long day at the office.

Welbeck would make it 4-0 after yet another Wolves turnover saw Brighton flood the box with runners for Pervis Estupiñán to pick out.

Halftime should have been a moment to make some changes and save some face. Wolves started the day with just 29 goals on the season, so no one was expecting a comeback, but simply performing a bit better would have at least shown some character.

And on one hand, the next goal wasn’t the result of a Wolves turnover. That’s progress, right?

On the other, Wolves made a triple sub and set up in a super compact 5-4-1, and Brighton just walked the ball up the middle anyway. One of those new faces, Nathan Collins, intervened to prevent Undav from walking in on goal alone, but his clearance attempt only succeeded in setting Welbeck up to fizz a 22-yard shot past Sá.

There was still time for one more insult for traveling Wolves fans, as another disaster in possession ended with Brighton capitalizing on a turnover. This may have been the worst giveaway of the bunch: Brighton forced a long back-pass from midfield, and Sá waited for them to try to press, hoping in vain for some spaces to play through.

He moved the ball to Matheus Nunes, who did not in fact play through any spaces, with Undav eventually dinking the ball over Sá after Brighton relieved Wolves of the ball.

“We are sorry a lot for our fans,” Wolves coach Julen Lopetegui told the BBC. “Today we had a very bad day in all the situations. We suffered very early, one goal, two goals. When you have this kind of day, the responsibility is [on] the coach.”

On the Brighton side of the coin, De Zerbi was understandably a bit more chipper.

“The best game as a coach,” De Zerbi told BBC Radio 5 before praising his team for their character more than their execution.

“We make a mistake if we think only of style, of quality of play. Today we show our quality as a person, as [men], because we suffered a lot against Man United in the [FA Cup] semi-final. We suffered a lot after enduring the Nottingham Forest game, and today I think the people can understand the level of my players in terms of human quality… I am very happy. I am delighted for the level of my guys.”

Impact on the table

For Brighton, the win lifts them within two points of Tottenham in fifth place, and they’re very much in the four-team battle for that Europa League spot. In fact, with a game in hand on the rest of that group, the Seagulls may be the unlikely favorites.

Wolves, meanwhile, remain eight points clear of the relegation zone, and realistically they’re probably safe whether or not they take points in any of their remaining games. Being so thoroughly humiliated will not help them one bit, though, and may be the kind of thing that sees ownership consider Julen Lopetegui’s position this summer.

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Premier League home stretch: Where things stand as season enters its final month

Some teams are having a blast, while others are going through it

The Premier League is getting down to the nitty-gritty.

The end of the season is approaching, with most teams having five or six games left to secure a trophy, a spot in Europe, or just keep themselves in the top flight for another year.

For some teams, the end of the season was expected to be a pressure-cooker, but has instead been something of a celebration. For others, it’s one last chance to fight their way to safety, or at least salvage some pride in an otherwise disappointing season.

Here’s where everyone stands heading into the last month of the 2022-23 season.

Best trail-cam reaction – Yellowstone wolf or Yukon coyote?

Which animal has the best reaction after encountering a trail camera, the Yellowstone wolf or Yukon coyote?

Remote trail cameras wonderfully showcase the natural behavior of wild animals, but that’s not always the case.

For example, the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project recently shared footage showing a wolf in Yellowstone National Park licking a trail-cam’s lens.

“Just a short clip of some wild wolves from Yellowstone, courtesy of our colleagues at the National Park Service,” the RMWP stated March 27 on Facebook.

The footage, posted below, shows a lead wolf become curious about the camera before stopping to lick the device. Several other wolves ignore the camera.

The footage was somewhat reminiscent of a clip featured here last December, showing a coyote’s comical response after encountering a trail camera in Canada’s Yukon Territory.

In the footage, posted below, the coyote bows briefly before bounding from a perceived danger.

David Troup of Yukon Wildlife Cams stated: “Inevitably wildlife can detect peculiarities in their environment, whether it’s by sight, sound or smell.”

Last September, one of Troup’s cameras captured footage of a grizzly bear responding like the Yellowstone wolf.

Troup wrote on Facebook: “A family of grizzly bears find a camera and investigate the peculiarity in September, with a quick view inside mom’s mouth included.”

–Editor’s note: A similar version of this post, with more focus on Yellowstone wolves, was published April 18

NBA Twitter reacts to play-in games: ‘Rudy Gobert out there looking like prime Shaq’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the final day of the play-in tournament.

The 2023 NBA playoffs bracket is set after the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves clinched the 8th seeds on the last day of the play-in tournament.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Miami holding on to Chicago and Minnesota blowing out Oklahoma to reach the playoffs.

Watch: Dogs don’t get the greeting they expected from pack of wolves

Two adventurous dogs apparently out to make new friends approached a pack of wolves with tails wagging, but that didn’t last long.

Two adventurous dogs apparently out to make new friends approached a pack of wolves with tails wagging, but they quickly turned around and ran away with tails between their legs when the reception they got was anything but friendly.

Raffaele Imondi captured the encounter on video in Abruzzo, Italy.

Fortunately, things turned out well for the dogs, as Imondi explained to USA Today/FTW Outdoors:

“The dogs are not mine, they are someone’s dogs, used to walking around alone and in this case they went where the wolves slept, probably looking for food. In the end the wolves chased them away twice, but without attacking them…allowing the dogs to go away permanently without hurting them.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Newborn cub getting assist from momma bear is ‘cuteness overload’ (video)

Hopefully, it was a lesson learned for the dogs. And, perhaps, the dog’s owner.

Photo courtesy of ViralHog.

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Yellowstone wolf flees rival pack in ‘epic’ downhill chase

A young wolf under attack by a rival pack Wednesday in Yellowstone National Park was captured on video fleeing in a full downhill sprint across rugged terrain.

A young wolf under attack by a rival pack Wednesday in Yellowstone National Park was captured on video fleeing in a full downhill sprint across rugged terrain.

The dramatic footage was captured by Michelle Holihan for Yellowstone Wolf Tracker, which described the scene via Instagram:

“Today our Winter Wolf Watch saw the Rescue Creek Pack run across the Lupine Creek Pack and an epic chase began. Several Rescue Creek Pack wolves ran up on a grey pup from Lupine, the rest of her pack fled but she didn’t understand the danger until it was too late and she had to flee full speed down a mountain slope to escape.”

Viewers are likely to be amazed at the remarkable speed and agility on display by the young gray wolf and those leading the attack.

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Wolf Tracker continued: “We lost sight of the grey and don’t know what happened to her! Wolf packs are territorial but in the winter when all the wildlife is concentrated at low elevations they can have encounters like this one.”

–Image courtesy of Yellowstone Wolf Tracker

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Yellowstone-based wolves faring much better this hunting season

Montana hunters have killed three wolves from packs based in Yellowstone National Park so far this season, which pales in comparison to the toll exacted by this time in 2021-22.

Montana hunters have killed at least three wolves from packs based in Yellowstone National Park so far this season, which pales in comparison to the toll exacted by this time in 2021-22.

Yellowstone Public Affairs Specialist Linda Veress provided the following  details to FTW Outdoors on Thursday:

One was an un-collared male wolf from the Rescue Creek Pack, killed on Dec. 5, 2022. The second was a radio-collared 2-1/2-year-old male, cataloged as 1325M, from the 8-mile pack, killed on Dec. 31, 2022.

The third was a 3-1/2-year-old collared female, 1229F, from the Junction Butte Pack, killed via trapping on Jan. 13, 2023.

All were harvested in southwest Montana after they’d wandered north of the the park.

Junction Butte Pack. Photo courtesy of Yellowstone National Park

In all, five wolves have been killed in a district that was notorious for wolf kills last season. The other two, both males, are not believed to have been based in Yellowstone.

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The district quota this season is six.

PERSPECTIVE

Through Jan. 26, 2022, 17 Yellowstone wolves had been shot or trapped after leaving the park. A few were harvested in Idaho and Wyoming, but most were killed in the same southwest Montana region.

By season’s end, Yellowstone would lose 25 wolves – about one-fifth of the population – to hunting and trapping, thanks largely to the elimination of quotas near the park’s northern boundary.

Wolf crossing road inside the park. Photo courtesy of Yellowstone National Park

Montana hunters accounted for 21 kills in a season that was intensely controversial long before it ended. (Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte declined a request by Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly to suspend the hunt as concerns mounted in Dec. 2021.)

Yellowstone was left with only 89 wolves entering the spring pupping season. They faced an uncertain future as apex predators deemed important both ecologically and from a tourism standpoint.

But last August, to avoid a repeat of last season, the Montana Fish and Game Commission voted to cap the number of wolves killed in what’s known as Wildlife Management Unit 313, at six wolves for 2022-23.

CURRENT STATUS

The 2022-23 season in WMU 313, which began last Sept. 15, will end March 15 or as soon as the quota reaches six. Veress said that as of Dec. 31, 2022,  108 wolves belonging to 10 packs were residing primarily inside the park.

–Images show gray wolves inside Yellowstone National Park

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Bear cub ‘readjusts’ trail camera perfectly to capture variety of critters

A bear cub moved a trail camera in Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota and the results were ‘surprisingly good.’

A bear cub wandering by a trail camera in Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota noticed the unusual contraption on a tree and decided it needed readjusting.

After poking around with its nose, the cub angled the trail camera in just the perfect spot to capture a variety of critters. The Voyageurs Wolf Project called the results “surprisingly good.”

Besides several wolves from the Windsong Pack and the bear family with its trail-camera-adjusting cub, the camera picked up a bobcat, fisher weasel and—one of the more popular of the sightings—a ruffed grouse.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Can you spot the python ‘sitting on the throne’?

The Voyageurs Wolf Project studies wolves and their prey, such as moose, deer and beavers, in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem, which includes the area in and around Voyageurs National Park.

“This video is from this fall,” the Voyageurs Wolf Project Facebook post explained. “The bear cub messed with the camera in early September and all footage is from then until end of October when we checked on the camera.”

Why did the cub mess with the camera? Voyageurs Wolf Project thought it might be because of the camera’s scent or that it stands out as something different, since the cameras aren’t well hidden.

Photo courtesy of Voyageurs Wolf Project.  

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Should last-place teams troll opponents *before* games? Who’s to say

Nottingham’s Forest’s social media team may want this one back

Trolling an opponent on Twitter can be a delightful exercise, riling up opposing fans while giving your own supporters a little extra edge.

But — and this is important — it’s an infinitely better exercise to do after a win, and it’s an especially terrible idea to do it pre-game if you are a last-place team.

That is a lesson that Nottingham Forest’s social media team learned the hard way this weekend.

Prior to Saturday’s match at fellow strugglers Wolves, Forest posted a picture of striker Emmanuel Dennis on the field at Molineux surrounded by wolf cubs with the caption: “playtime.” The post was eventually deleted, but the damage had been done.

After Wolves inevitably won the game 1-0, their social media team was ready to pull the trigger on an incredibly justified response: “playtime’s over.”

Cooper: Tweet ‘wasn’t helpful’

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper admitted what everyone already knew to be true: That post perhaps wasn’t the best idea ever.

“I was asked about it in the press conference afterwards but I wasn’t aware of it. Then I was notified about what happened afterwards,” Cooper said.

“It wasn’t a good thing from the club and it wasn’t helpful. But it’s been dealt with. The important thing is about learning from it.”

Forest has now hopefully learned that the time for riling up an opponent is after a victory, not before a game. But with one win in 10 so far this season, the next trolling opportunity for the newly promoted side may not be for a while.

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