Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Jon reminded us that “The Rise Of Black Wolf” is on Nat Geo tonight. The National Geographic Channel on Direct TV is 276.
Thursday, November 25 8pm EST, 6pm MTN.
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Nat Geo: The Rise of Black Wolf
Thursday November 25 8pm EST, 6pm MTN.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/nature-untamed/5167/Overview#tab-Videos/09001_
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More Info on Casanova, Black Wolf
Black Wolf: Casanova
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Photos: Top photo: Courtesy Nature Online, Second Photo: Courtesy Nat Geo
Posted in: Yellowstone Wolves
Tags: Casanova, Iconic Druid Peak Pack
Boulder White Clouds Council
Exposing The Big Game
Footloose Montana
Friends of the Clearwater
Lockwood Animal Rescue Center
Louise du Toit
LUPUSLAETUS
Mercy For Animals
Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance (NIWA)
Predator Friendly®- Because Wildlife Matters
Project Coyote
Project: Wolf
The Nature Conservancy
The Ravensong Group
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Wolf And Wildlife Studies: Jay Mallonee (Independent Wolf Biologist)
Wolf Song of Alaska
Wolves in english ! Les loups en anglais !
WWP's Gray Wolf Page
Yellowstone To Yukon Conservation Initiative
Howling For Justice 
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Cynthia Minde, Cynthia Minde and Wolf Warriors, Nabeki. Nabeki said: The Rise of The Black Wolf…Tonight on Nat Geo: http://wp.me/pDTDG-2tx […]
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Nat Geo: The Rise of Black Wolf. Very interesting program about the lives of wolves in Yellowstone. Wolves are fascinating to me but I was unaware of the many dangers they faced from their own species. I know Casanova had a good and long life compared to other wolves but he was so endearing that, even though he lived a very long life, the ending very sad.
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Hi William,
The Blacktails still exist as a pack but 480 wandered off and nobody ever saw him again. Very sad.
Here’s an article I found about the rise and fall of the Druids and more info on the Blacktails. I’m still pissed off that the park did nothing to treat the last little Druid’s mange, when you can plainly see from the show tonight they have no problem harassing the wolves with helicopters to dart and collar them
Rise and fall of the Druid empire
http://www.tetonvalleynews.net/news/article_94177536-4d93-11df-92b9-001cc4c03286.html
N.
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I agree with you very interesting program an I wonder what happens to Casanova as he disappeard
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Hi Jason…Here’s what happened to Casanova:
From Yellowstone Wolf Project update: an interview with leader Douglas Smith
You lost one of your most famous wolves this year—302.
“The story of the year was probably 302, the most popular wolf in Yellowstone. The Quadrant pack probably killed him in a territory dispute. We know his story well since we’ve been following him for years. Most wolves live to about 4 ½ to 5 years on average—he was probably nine. We had nicknamed 302 “Mr. Casanova.” Most wolves assume a pretty monogamous breeding position in their pack structure and have no interest in philandering. But 302 had a wandering eye. He would leave his pack during breeding season to court females in other packs. It’s ironic that 302 had a huge following—people loved him—but he was probably the most unethical wolf we had because of his extensive “affairs.”
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
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Casanova reminded me of Romeo. A loner just looking for compansionship. Although all wolves are special and amazing, there is just something extra amazing about black wolves especially lone black wolves. rip Casanova and Romeo 2 special black wolves
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Wasn’t he a beautiful wolf Jon? I love black wolves too. Casanova reminded me of Romeo as well. A wolf has a very tough liife. Just look at what they have to go through to survive in Yellowstone where they are protected and the game is plentiful. Can you imagine their lives outside the park where they are relentlessly tracked and hunted by WS, poachers and demonized? I just can’t imagine anyone killing one of them.
N.
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The helicopter and the collaring really bothered me…anyone else?
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Yeah, me too Jerry.
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I just cringed Jerry when I say the helicopter. It proved every thing I was saying about intrusive collaring. What’s the point? I mean those wolves are so visible you don’t need collars to find them but it sure made it easy to pick them off during last years hunt when the Cottonwood pack was decimated.
N.
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It always bothers me when they collar,tag,or any other invasive contraption on wolves or any other wild life.I am not to thrilled to hear that usual statement,”for the sake of science,”either.I don’t even live around there and I cringe when I hear helicopters flying around my house.I find myself thinking how horrible it would be to be living in these places where these death squads keep flying about.
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I totally agree Rita. As soon as I saw the helicopter chasing black wolf, I cringed.
N.
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I didn’t see this programme, maybe it wasn’t on in the UK.
Well Nabeki, at least collering them isn’t as bad as killing them.
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I know Zarago but the benefits of collaring are far outweighed by the negatives. WS uses collars to track and kill wolves. I felt so bad for black wolf when that helicopter came sweeping into the valley chasing and scaring him.
N.
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That’s bad. Why do the idiotic wolf hunters have to use things to track down more wolves to kill? Gosh, even if there is a huge sign saying ‘NO WOLF HUNTING’, they still hunt them! Maybe there should be a threat, like something to do with getting arrested. Because this is just rediculous.
Can’t they just use some other method of tracking them down? I mean, look at the size of those collars! As you said, it’s a breeding ground for mites and other nasties.
People are so prejudiced against wolves, we lost all our wolves hundreds of years ago, and I plan to one day help reintroduce them. When they killed them, their ignorance meant that they had no idea of the disaster that the deer would cause to the forests. They eat the trees, and the new trees because there is nothing to reduce their population.
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So sad about the UK wolves Zarago but it doesn’t surprise me. Human cruelty knows no bounds when it comes to wolves. Europe purged it’s landscape of large predators long before the settlers landed on Plymouth Rock. They brought their wolf hating ways with them and went about trying to wipe out most of our native wildlife in just a few hundred years. There have been estimates that 500 million animals died during the conquering of America. Pretty staggering to think about.
N.
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(We lost all our wolves in the UK)
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These wildlife managers that need to control wolf populations should have seen the program and how the wolf packs take care of their numbers all on their own. You could see how removal of one or two wolves from a pack can have disastrous effects.
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Wolves are self-regulating. Hunters are idiots thinking that hunting is the only way to manage or control wolf #s and its absurd to think that. Wolves kill other wolves although this is not nice to watch, this is much more natural than some bloodthirsty hunter putting a bullet in a wolf for sport and just for the pelt. It’s all about making money off of hunters. Predators are self-regulating. They just don’t all live long healthy lives like hunters may think. You have disease, other wolves, etc
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You are so right Jon. The wolf hunters could care less about any of those things, they just have a blood lust to kill something. Who ikills an animal for sport and says they have a heart or any empathy? They have zero respect or empathy for an animal they kill for their twisted pleasure.
N.
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Wolves also have smaller litters when wolf numbers are high and prey are scarce. So killing each other is not the only way they self-regulate. And hunters calling for the killing of wolves never seem to consider that, if wolves are truly getting overpopulated, we could just sterilize some of them instead of hunting. I think “population control” is just an excuse to have some fun at the wolves’ expense.
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CaptainSakonna I don’t think there is ever a time we would need to sterilize wolves. Family is everything to them, it’s how they survive. It would just make them more vulnerable to human cruelty. The entire wolf hysteria is trumped up by the ant-wolf crowd. I’ve seen babies that are more mature.
N.
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That’s what struck me william, how the packs were impacted when they lost members. The mother wolf with three pups to care for by herself until the stepdad showed up. Wolves fight for their territory but it’s not a bad thing, it’s their instinct and the natural order of things. Shooting wolves like the wolf killers do are the unnatural ones.
N.
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http://www.mtstandard.com/lifestyles/recreation/article_f72ab9ce-f835-11df-aca2-001cc4c03286.html
In the Hunt: (Slob) Hunters play wolf blame game
Wolves are ruining hunting in Montana.
It’s been said so often that it’s become gospel. But the last person I heard it from – just a few days ago while hunting elk – was so off base that it’s worth sharing.
I went back with my brother Steve to a spot in the Madison Valley where just two days earlier I’d killed a nice six-point bull elk, this time hoping to fill my cow elk tag.
We were hunting on public land in some foothills and came upon a trophy six point bull that a hunter had just shot from more than 300 yards. The quality shot and manner of their hunt was a sharp contrast with what was to come.
From there, Steve got ahead of me and dipped into a draw. I heard a shot and then another and thought maybe he’d killed an elk.
But the shots just kept coming in rapid succession. In just over a minute, I heard the crack of more than 30 rifle blasts. Then I watched a herd of 40 elk run down onto the adjacent private ranchland.
When Steve and I reached the area where the shots had come from about 10 minutes later, one guy was dressing out an elk. We saw blood trails in the swath that the elk had left as they ran for the fence line.
I asked what had happened – why so much shooting? He described how his party of seven hunters had spotted the group of elk as it crossed on the hillside above about 150 yards away, and had dropped a six-point bull, as well as the elk he was gutting. I said there were blood trails and dead elk over here, and no one tagging them, and he replied “That’s their loss,” referring to his friends.
Then he commented that “I’m from northwest Montana, and we’ve got so darn many wolves up there, we can’t hunt elk.”
Seriously?
Can anyone explain what wolves have to do with seven guys spraying a herd of elk with 30 bullets? Am I the only person who sees the hypocrisy in someone who would do that complaining about a lack of elk to hunt?
In truth, this group of slobs had no idea how many elk they’d hit. And quite honestly, they really didn’t care.
We walked down the swath created by the herd and found a dead cow elk about 80 yards from the hunter. He had no idea it was there. We stood there for 15 minutes, waiting for someone to come tag his elk, but no one showed up.
I decided not to let the elk go to waste. I tagged the elk and began field dressing it. At the same time, two guys from Colorado drove up and said they’d watched the whole debacle. And they’d spotted another dead elk about 30 yards from us.
They said they too would take the dead elk if no one would claim it.
About half an hour later, two of the other hunters went up to the guy dressing his elk. One came walking up, and I asked if they even bothered aiming while they were shooting. He replied that he’d watched the one I was gutting drop, but that’s okay, it was mine now.
He also noted that he was “born and raised in Montana.”
Well buddy, I was not born and raised in Montana. But I do know a little about
ethical hunting that you apparently have never learned, or simply don’t bother to practice.
First off, I know not to shoot into
bunches of animals because bullets pass through bodies and maim others. I know to stop after I shoot, follow through and determine whether I hit an animal and then to pursue it. And I know not to shoot at animals that are running, which dramatically increases the odds of poor shot placement and wounding animals.
Sure, I can hear some critic saying “Well, what would you do with 40 elk in a bunch in front of you – not shoot?”
In fact I’ve faced that situation with more than 200 elk in front of me, and the solution was simple – I picked a cow on the edge of the herd, with nothing behind it, and shot it in the vitals.
What I and none of my friends have ever done is stand there and wantonly blast away at running animals in a tight bunch. It’s unsporting, it’s unethical, it’s disgusting.
About half an hour later, the herd came back through. Several elk were clearly wounded and limping along, including a big bull. While we all know that’s part of hunting, it was a disgraceful sight knowing that the people who fired away really weren’t too concerned about what had happened.
Later that day, I told a game warden about the incident. But these gang shoots make it virtually impossible to prosecute such cases because you can’t determine who shot the elk.
This kind of behavior comes at a time when even some leading conservation groups complain about the annihilation of big game herds by wolves. It’s also a time when many people’s image of hunting is a bunch of bloodthirsty rednecks out blasting away at animals from their trucks.
Sadly, that’s an accurate picture of what these guys were doing.
I’m sure these guys sat around that night wondering what my problem was. And the next day, they could go out and do it all over again. Heck, if they keep flinging bullets, eventually one of those elk may have antlers. They might even tag it.
So the next time you hear someone go off on animal rights activists or wolves, think about how much wildlife we’d have if everybody wounded a few elk before they tag one.
And think about what’s really ruining hunting.
Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached at nick.gevock@mtstandard.com.
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Thank you for reporting and, as a hunter yourself, condemning this mockery of a hunt. I cross-post animals in kill “shelters” on Facebook and the callousness of owners that drop off pets is beyond belief. Sometimes I seriously think humanity is the disease of this world.
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Thanks for posting that Jon. At least there are ethical hunters out there that are speaking out. Lone voices in the wilderness.
N.
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Jon….saw that article. Thanks for posting it.
And hunters and game agencies wonder why hunter #’s are declining? Geez!
Well, it’s partially due to the number of red-neck slob hunters like these guys.
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Anyone know if it is possible to purchase this video? I’m having trouble finding it online. One of my dearest friends operates the largest Siberian Husky rescue in Washington. She lives in the country and does not have TV. But she watches videos occasionally and I would like to get this for her for Christmas. While looking I did find “shop thirteen” which has a number of nature videos. If I cannot find this one, I will buy one of those. But I would really like to buy this one too.
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Not really sure Sandra if it’s out yet for purchase. If anyone on the blog knows please post it, it would be most appreciated. I’ll do some digging myself and get back to you.
N.
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Sandra,If you are talking about the recent show on Nat.Geo. of,”The Rise of the Black Wolf”,I don’t think it would be out now,for it was recent.The National Geographic has their own website that one can purchase past videos.
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http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20101128/OPINION/11280303/We+have+much+in+common+with+wolves++solution+complicated
We have much in common with wolves; solution complicated
The species has redeeming characteristics: They form tight family bonds and demonstrate great tenderness, even empathy. They are loyal and have been known to sacrifice themselves for a loved one in harm’s way.
They communicate via body language, howling, growling and more. Yet they are fiercely territorial. They maim or kill each other over mating or social hierarchy. They’re a danger to other species: cattle, deer, elk, and even horses.
They tend to target the young, the old, and the weak.
We humans have more in common with wolves than we might like to admit.
Should wolves be categorized as endangered, managed by wildlife officials, or hunted and perhaps eradicated?
Even the staunchest critics agree that wolves are here to stay. We need to manage our mutual killing fields so everyone is happy — except the cattle and sheep, that is. Let’s face it: Humans just want our livestock to live long enough so we can kill it ourselves.
If there was a species above us, I shudder to think of human status under their laws.
I have empathy for ranchers who lose livestock to wolves, and I applaud “market value reimbursement.”
Further, ranchers should be given incentives to build “night corrals,” add “fladry” (red flag fencing), guard dogs, noise deterrents, and range riders. I applaud ranchers who have agreed to participate in studies to reduce losses and look for new ways to co-exist with the wolf population.
I like the quote from the Red Lodge rancher who told the Defenders of Wildlife, “I’m really in favor of the wolves, I just don’t want to feed them a $10,000 mare.”
There was a human feeding frenzy for wolves after the Bush era de-listing. In 2009, at least 257 Idaho and Montana wolves were killed by hunters. In August, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service justifiably restored the endangered status to enable wolves to rebuild their numbers.
There are two broader issues: religion and state’s rights.
People with a more hierarchical view of the universe believe we are endowed with God-given responsibility to rule, and that lesser creatures should be subordinate to our will.
Others view creation as a complex interacting system and urge respect the role of non-human species in maintaining the planet’s delicate balance.
The fate of wild animals waxes and wanes between these two perspectives: The Bush era was more hierarchical, the Obama years are relational.
Nomadic creatures cannot respect state lines. That, along with the awakening of environmental awareness in the 1960s, is why we have an Endangered Species Act instead of a hodgepodge of state regulations.
Our fellow predator species needs federal protection and the cooperation of state agencies, ranchers and hunters.
This is not a problem with a single solution, however. As wolves face challenges and opportunities, we need to have laws that are flexible enough to maintain healthy wolf packs without creating undue hardship for the predator du jour: man.
Claire Baiz is a Great Falls business owner, free-lance writer and member of the Trib’s Sounding Board.
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http://cbs4denver.com/wireapnewswy/Program.seeks.to.2.2025776.html
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Where can i download this doc in Eng??
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I think The National Geographic should have wolf week same with the discovory chanle just to help the wolves out more to inform people that wolves are not blood thristy animals but a family and caring animals.(sorry about the bad spelling )
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i think they should to maybe someone should emaile them this idea.
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national goegrapic should show the rise of black wolf agen so sould discovory chanle.
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