Happy Halloween!

Hope you all have a spooky and fun Halloween with treat bags full of delicious bones! Or candy if you prefer that sort of thing.

Red Wolf M1483 Arrives at the Wolf Conservation Center!

WCC's curator, Rebecca Bose, opens the gate with Animal Embassy's Chris Evers

October 28, 2009 - Still groggy from a "red eye" flight, red wolf M1483 was released into his new home - the Wolf Conservation Center's recently opened red wolf exhibit- after a long flight from Tacoma, WA. The wolf was greeted by WCC staff and volunteers at Newark International Airport at 6:30am! When we opened the travel crate's gate to reveal a beautiful home to the new addition to the WCC family, M1483 stayed put! Perhaps the early flight had taken its toll. He looked around for 2 to 3 minutes until he finally made the leap and ventured out into the unknown. M1483 is currently living adjacent to female red wolf, F1397, and they will be united following a brief adjustment period. The pair will be given the opportunity to breed this winter because their offspring will increase the genetic diversity of their rare species. If F1397 and F1483 prove fruitful next spring, their pups will be candidates for release! A number of captive born pups each year are selected to be transferred and inserted into the den of wild wolves. The wild wolves then embrace and raise these new pups as their own. The pups develop in the wild and thus gain survival skills required to mature and reproduce. Keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned.

Tracking science: Biologist’s findings show forest diversity, health influenced by wolves

The consequences of an elk population without a top predator include a decline of the deciduous trees elk eat and a decline in many animals including songbirds. These consequences indicate that changes in the wolf population have trickle-down effects on other populations, a phenomenon known as a “trophic cascade”.

Scientists are making a strong case for trophic cascades proving that the presence, or absence, of wolves sends dramatic ripples throughout the food web.

To read more from The Missoulian, please click "more".

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Big News: We're Moving!

We have big news that was announced in our local press today, and we wanted to make sure to share it with you!

The Wolf Conservation Center has received an extremely generous gift in celebration of our 10th Anniversary: A group of long-time WCC supporters has purchased a 7.9-acre property adjacent to the Leon Levy Nature Preserve right here in South Salem, NY and will be donating it to the WCC!

The property has three houses on it - one of which (see photo to the left) will become our New WCC Education Center, with room for a beautiful expanded classroom and a great exhibition area for dynamic and educational showcases! And our Ambassador Wolves will, of course, be coming with us. They will live in a spectacular 8-acre area with ideal, rolling wolf terrain inside the Preserve just up the hill from the classroom.

Making the transition will take time - and money - and we plan to launch a Capital Campaign once we have assumed ownership. But for now, we just want to let you in on the news, and invite you to join Atka, the WCC Staff, and the Board of Trustees on Dec. 3 at "Wine, Wolves & Wonderful News!" at the Waccabuc Country Club to celebrate the Holiday Season and this very special gift (a separate post will be coming soon telling you how to register).

To read more about the gift and the move, please click here to connect to the Lewisboro Ledger.

Stay tuned!!

Mexican Gray Wolf M740 Arrives!

WCC's curator and co-founder, Rebecca Bose and Hélène Grimaud open the gates!

The 7 year old male Mexican gray wolf, M740, arrived yesterday afternoon from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. He is currently exploring his new home and getting comfortable after his day of travel. In a few weeks, he will be united with the female Mexican gray wolf, F810, with hopes that they will breed this winter. These wolves will be given the opportunity to breed because their potential offspring would increase the genetic diversity of their rare species. If the pair proves fruitful, the family might be released into the wild of Arizona in 2010! F810 and M740 and their progeny are the "understudy" for another pair that is currently slated for release into the wild this spring. So an exciting chapter begins in the lives of M740, F810 and the WCC.

Watch a video of the the release!

It's National Wolf Awareness Week!

While it's a time to celebrate wolves, it's also an opportunity to encourage conservation efforts for all wild species. The celebration continues this weekend with another unique program on October 17th!

Polar Bears and Climate Change - Guest Lecture with Dr Don Moore of the Smithsonian's National Zoo!

Please join us for a very special talk about polar bears and the impact climate change has had on this magnificent creature. Westchester's own Jean Craighead George, the Newbery Medal-winning children's author and environmentalist who is an inspiration for children and adults (including Dr Moore!) alike, will also attend. Guests will also join in a howl while visiting with ambassador wolves- Kaila, Apache, Lukas and Atka. Each guest will receive an official 2009 Wolf Awareness Week poster. Click here to view the October schedule and register today!

Some Sad News from Yellowstone

Montana's backcountry wolf hunt is in progress in the remote Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness along the northern border of Yellowstone National Park. The hunt began on September 15th and 9 wolves have already been killed. The wolf quota for this area was set at 12 so a surprising number of wolves have been killed in a very short period of time. Among the casualties is Yellowstone's Cottonwood Pack. This is a huge blow to wolf watchers and researchers from around the world who flock to Yellowstone to behold wild wolves in action. The Cottonwood pack's breeding female, 527F, was daughter of legendary breeding pair 21M and 42F, two famous Yellowstone wolves many have seen on PBS and the Discovery Channel. 527F was 7 years old. As Montana's inaugural wolf hunt continues, wolf advocates remain hopeful that the ongoing hunt is only a temporary setback on the road to restoring federal protections for the northern Rocky Mountain wolves.

To learn more about the Cottonwood Pack, please visit Ralph Maughan’s Wildlife News

A Worthwhile Weekend

At the Wolf Conservation Center, we think it's important to try to do something every day to help make the world around you a better place. Well, here's a great opportunity to help pitch in and make our county even more beautiful. 107.1 The Peak, a local radio station we often listen to in the van, is co-sponsoring a clean-up along the Bronx River Parkway on Sunday October 18th. It looks like a fun worthwhile event. Details are here.

And to make the weekend even better, check out our special polar bear program with Dr Don Moore of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo the day before on Saturday October 17th! He'll be sharing his experiences with polar bears and discussing the effects of global warming on these magnificent animals. And of course we'll be visiting the ambassador wolves too! For information and reservations click here.

Decline in big predators wreaking havoc on ecosystems, OSU researchers say

Studies find that the range of all the largest terrestrial predators in North America — including wolves, cougars and bears — has declined in the past 200 years. The decline of top predators is driving increases in smaller predators disrupting ecosystems and economies worldwide
To read more from OregonLive.com click more.

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Doug Smith: Yellowstone Wolves Distinct

Leader for the Yellowstone Gray Wolf Restoration Project, Doug Smith, reveals how wolves of Yellowstone National Park differ from those of packs in Canada and Alaska. The reason is lack of human-caused mortality.
To read more from The Billings Gazette click more.
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Red Wolf F1397 Released into New Home!

F1397 arrived yesterday afternoon from the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro, NC. The four year old female is busy exploring her new habitat, a bachelorette pad of sorts, but not for long. Later this month F1397 will be joined by a male red wolf, M1483, from the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, WA. Visitors to the Wolf Conservation Center will be given the opportunity to observe the elusive F1397 for the very first time this weekend!