Call For 'Serious Debate' On Wolf

A "serious debate" has to be held on the potential impact of reintroducing wild wolves to the Scottish Highlands, a UK conservation charity has said.

Richard Morley, of the Wolves and Humans Foundation, has forecast that public support for the move will grow over the next 15 years.

There is already official backing for the reintroduction of wild beavers in Scotland by next year.

Mr Morley said previous talks on wolves had been too "simple or romantic".

The charity - formerly The Wolf Society of Great Britain - is holding an informal, paid-for event in April at Alladale Wilderness Reserve, north of Inverness, which has wild boar and European elk.

With that kind of exploitation of woodlands, more commercial style of farming and a big expansion of cattle droving out of the Highlands the wolf was doomed to extinction

While not campaigning for the return of wolves, Mr Morley said he wanted to make sure the foundation was included in any future debates on the issue.Reserve owner Paul Lister is keen to see the mammals and other animals once native to Scotland reintroduced.

He said: "A time will come when media reports will generate a public demand for the government to look seriously at the reintroduction of wolves.

"We want to be at the table when that happens."

Mr Morley added: "What I have tried to organise before and still want to do is hold a major conference, maybe in Inverness, bringing together scientists and communities."

He said farmers and crofters have serious concerns about the effect wolves could have on their livestock, particularly sheep, that have to be acknowledged.

Serious concerns

However, Mr Morley said there was also potential for attracting tourists.

Yellowstone National Park in the US has generated extra income from its wolves, he said.

"There have been problems, such as what to do when they stray outside the boundaries, but a key issue is the $3m a year it gets from people coming to see the wolves," he said.

Last year, a research team from the UK and Norway published a study that found reintroducing wild wolves to the Scottish Highlands would help the local ecosystem.

Writing in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers - which included experts from the Imperial College London - said this would aid the re-establishment of plants and birds currently hampered by the deer population. There are conflicting accounts of where the last wild wolf in Scotland was killed. One of the claims is that it was dispatched near Findhorn, Moray, in 1743 amid an outcry that it had killed two children. Whatever the truth, Professor James Hunter, director of the UHI Centre for History in Inverness, said wolves were doomed to extinction by dramatic changes within society, politics and to land management. By the end of the 17th Century and start of the 18th, the long-standing clan system, its chiefs and way of life in the Highlands were under pressure. Prof Hunter said: "The Scottish Government was looking to extend its influence very heavily into the Highlands and to subvert Highland chief and draw them more into southern society. "It was a time of huge change in terms of the natural environment and landscape. "There was growing exploitation of Highland woodlands for charcoal for iron smelting. "With that kind of exploitation of woodlands, more commercial style of farming and a big expansion of cattle droving out of the Highlands the wolf was doomed to extinction."

Wolves Released in Mexico Mountains Near Arizona

Mexican officials have released five wolves in the Sierra San Luis mountains of northeastern Sonora, a Mexican environmental group said in a news release.

The wolf release occurred Oct. 11, the group Naturalia said. It gave no specific information about where the release occurred, but that mountain range abuts the New Mexico and Arizona borders with Sonora and ends about 80 miles south of the international border at Douglas.

The release came after years of planning by Mexican officials and opposition by U.S. ranchers, who are worried the wolves will cross into the United States and be completely protected from capture or killing.

Environmental groups have said they hope the wolves cross into the U.S. and mix with wolves living in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona.

7 Thousandth Wolf Hunting License Sold !!!!!!!!

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks sold the 7 thousandth wolf hunting license Friday.

The season begins Saturday for archers. FWP communications chief Ron Aasheim says there probably won't be a lot of success with archery. He says they expect more wolves will be killed after the general season opens up on October 22nd. Aasheim says hunters have a variety of reasons for buying wolf tags.

"I think there are some hunters that are disgusted with wolves, there's some hunters that want this unique opportunity, there's kind of a novelty thing here, but I really think they're engaged and they want to help us manage wolves.

We need to manage them and right now that's the only tool we have is hunting,” says Aasheim. This year's statewide quota for wolf hunting is 220. 

Grey Wolf Hunt Gets Legal Backing Again

LIFE must be confusing for the grey wolves of Montana and Idaho. Last week those states' annual hunts were declared back on, despite a judge's ruling in 2010 that made them illegal.

The two states allowed hunting in 2009, after the US Fish and Wildlife Service decided the wolves there no longer needed the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Last year a district judge overturned that decision, halting the 2010 hunts and triggering a protracted legal battle. In the latest instalment, the Ninth 

Circuit Court of Appeals once again ruled that the hunts can restart. Both states' hunts open this week.

Properly managed, the Idaho hunt should not be a serious threat, says Lisette Waits at the University of Idaho in Moscow, who monitors the local wolves. The Idaho population is "really healthy", she says.

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies, however, insists that those wolves are threatened by shrinking habitat.

Wolf Hunts Get Under Way in Montana, Idaho

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Gray wolf hunts are under way in Montana and Idaho as state officials seek to sharply reduce the predator's numbers in hopes of curbing attacks on livestock and big game herds.

Montana's hunt kicked off at sunrise Saturday with a six-week, archery-only wolf season. A general wolf hunting season opens Oct. 22 and runs through the end of the year.

Montana wildlife officials have set a statewide harvest quota of 220 wolves, which would reduce the state's population to a projected 425 animals.

Idaho's hunt began Tuesday. There is no quota across most of Idaho and hunting is scheduled to run through June 1 in some areas.

Wildlife advocates failed in their bid to get a federal court injunction barring the hunts, which became possible after gray wolves in five states lost their federal protections this spring under an act of Congress.

License sales are down in both states compared to hunts in 2009. That could undermine the states' goal of killing enough wolves to reduce attacks on cows, sheep and big game such as elk and moose.

But officials said they expect sales to pick up as the hunting season goes on. Also, wildlife commissioners from the two states adopted changes this year meant to target wolves where predation has been the biggest problem.

"We're trying to be more surgical and distribute the harvest," said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim.

The 2009 wolf seasons marked the first time the animals had been subject to organized public hunting in the Lower 48 states since they were nearly exterminated in the 1930s.

Wyoming briefly allowed the animals to be shot on sight in 2008. The state's 343 wolves have since been returned to the endangered species list because Wyoming's wolf management law was considered too hostile.

Many of the 72 wolves killed in Montana in 2009 were taken in remote backcountry locations where livestock attacks are infrequent. That meant fewer wolves could be killed in the more populated, agricultural areas where problems with wolves have been more common.

For this year's wolf season, state officials divvied up the quota among 14 hunting units, versus just three in 2009.

Idaho hunters in 2009 failed to reach the state's 220 wolf quota even after the season was extended by several months. This year, commissioners set no limit on the number of wolves that can be killed in most parts of the state.

The move sparked criticism from wildlife advocates who said wolf populations could be decimated without quotas.

Idaho officials counter that they can call off the hunt if wolf numbers get too low, although no minimum number has been offered. Idaho had at least 705 wolves at the end of 2010 and state officials say there could be more than 1,000.

"If you believe the rhetoric, we would have already wiped out half our wolves by yesterday," said Idaho Fish and Game Deputy Director Jim Unsworth. "It's just not going to happen that way. We're not rookies at managing hunters and hunter harvests."

Wolf management actions by the states will be monitored for five years by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under terms of the animal's removal from the endangered species list. If wolf numbers tumble, federal protections could be restored.

Protections also could be restored if state laws or policies change in a way that "significantly increases the threat to the wolf population" said Seth Wiley, a recovery specialist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

But Wiley said his agency was confident both Montana and Idaho would maintain enough wolves to keep them off the endangered list. Agency officials already determined Idaho's decision to largely forego quotas did not meet the benchmark for revoking state authority.

A lawsuit from wildlife advocates challenging the transfer of authority over wolves to the states remains pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The court last month rejected an injunction that was sought to block the hunts. But the decision left unresolved whether Congress had violated the Constitution when it inserted an unprecedented provision into a budget bill rider this spring that excluded wolves from protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Oral arguments are expected in November. It could be months more before a final decision.

"I think it's highly unlikely at this point that the hunting season will be stopped," said attorney Tom Woodbury with Western Watersheds Project, one of the plaintiffs in the case.

Ranchers Relieved, Critics Rankled by Open Season on Wolves

100 MILE HOUSE, B.C. — Hunted to near-extinction in North America by the 1950s, the British Columbia wolf population has long since rebounded.

Now, this secretive nocturnal predator finds itself in the glare of the public eye once again after the provincial government lifted hunting restrictions on wolves in a region of the province.

Ranchers in the Cariboo region say they're relieved that they'll be able to hunt and trap wolves preying on their cattle, but critics say the open season is bad management based on poor science.

This summer, the Ministry of Forests and Lands eliminated any bag limit and will keep the wolf hunt season open indefinitely in the region west of the Fraser River on the Chilcotin plateau, said Rodger Stewart, director of resource management for the area in the Interior of the province.

Stewart said ranchers and First Nations have been reporting for the past three years an increase in the number of wolves and an increase in the number of wildlife and cattle falling prey to them.

"It's quite evident from the information we've got from First Nations and from our own occurrence reports that the frequency of wolf observations and the size and composition of the packs we do see has grown considerably in the last while," Stewart said in an interview.

It indicates "a significant imbalance with wolves in the ecosystem." People in the area say not just cattle, but moose and caribou are falling prey in increasing number.

"That is of considerable concern to First Nations communities that want to ensure we maintain rigorous game populations for their traditional uses," Stewart said.

Nobody from the Tsilhqot'in First Nation was available for comment, but Stewart said the change in regulation in the Cariboo region west of the Fraser River only brings the area in line with the open hunt that has been in place on the east side of the river and other areas of the province for some time.

He was adamant it is not a cull.

"We're not wiping wolves out. We're managing pack size and density."

But Paul Paquet, a biologist with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, said the ministry doesn't even have the information it would need to make that decision.

"What they're basing it on is entirely anecdotal," said Paquet, an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary.

"We don't really know what the wolf populations are, we don't know the extent of predation compared with previous years, we don't know at all if it's having an effect on wild ungulates, deer and elk and moose."

It harkens back to the days when wolves were hunted to extinction throughout most the United States and even threatened in Canada, he said.

"This is what we were hearing in the 1950s and earlier and we've made a lot of progress since those

days.

"I understand the kinds of concerns that ranchers have," said Paquet, who grew up on a ranch and is a hunter himself.

But rather than reduce livestock predation, he said an open hunt could see young wolves from disrupted packs out hunting the easiest prey they can find: cattle.

"We've got very good research from many, many years that have demonstrated that this kind of attempt to reduce populations creates more problems than it solves," said Paquet, who has studied wolves for 40 years.

Al Ley, of the provincial Conservation Officer Service, disagrees.

"It's not going to solve all the problems but it should lessen their concerns," he said of ranchers.

The open season hunt is specific to areas where livestock activity is the heaviest, and where wolves are preying on the cattle. But it's an emotional issue that is divided along urban-rural lines, he said.

For Kevin Boon, general manager of the B.C. Cattlemen's Association, it's an issue muddied by misinformation.

Boon said cattle producers around Prince George, Vanderhoof and the Peace River region are reporting the same problem.

The change in hunting rules basically allows ranchers to shoot wolves near cattle while they're grazing on Crown land, he said. Ranchers don't expect the expanded hunt will resolve the problem but it might help.

Nobody is out to eradicate wolves, he said, but if something isn't done to control the population, nature will by way of disease or starvation.

"Last winter we had ranchers who were coming in and they weren't getting the cattle but they were watching them kill the deer right in their feed yards," Boon said.

"When you start seeing them come in and lose that fear, when they're getting hungry enough that they're taking down deer in a guy's yard, it's a really good sign that there are too many of them out there for their own good, too."

Second wolf hunting season opens in Montana this September

It's been a summer of contention for the Endangered Species Act, and gray wolves are about to find out how their status changed.

This Saturday, Sept. 3, the second wolf hunt of the 21st century opens in Montana. Wolves were previously delisted in 2009, before being reinstated in 2010.

This April, Congress lifted federal protections of wolves in Montana and Idaho as well as parts of Oregon, Utah and Washington. The removal of wolves in these states from the endangered species list takes away their federal protections and hands management of the animals over to state wildlife agencies. Wolves in Wyoming will remain listed as an endangered species.

This year's congressional involvement came after Judge Molloy ruled in August 2010 that endangered species in different states could not be managed separately.

"Including hunters in wolf management is still a pretty new practice and a learning experience," said Vivaca Crowser, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson. "It's exciting, because hunters are so much a part of wildlife management. Now wolves are part of this management as well."

Numerous groups, including the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater and WildEarth Guardians, sought to overturn this congressional action, arguing Congress overstepped its authority in doing so. Yet, last Thursday District Court Judge Donald Molloy rejected arguments to stop this fall's wolf hunt ,while the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decides if the act of Congress was constitutional.

"Licenses sold quickly in 2009 [for the wolf hunt]," Crowser said. "This was due in part to the novelty of it being the first hunt. This year, people haven't been too sure if the hunt was going to continue, but with the ruling earlier this month, people are more confident in spending money for tags."

Other conservation organizations continue to question whether the current wolf populations are sufficiently recovered.

"Looking particularly at Idaho, and somewhat for Montana, wolves are being irresponsibly managed," said Gary MacFarlane, director of Friends of the Clearwater, a conservation organization based in Idaho.

"In Idaho, they have no specific limits on how many wolves can be killed, they can be trapped in some wilderness areas and the season can last up to 10 months," Macfarlane said. "It's an all out assault on wolves."

Though his organization did not succeed in halting this year's hunt, Macfarlane thinks there is a strong legal case to declare the Congressional move unconstitutional.

He said wolf management in states like Minnesota is an example of responsible management, because they won't even consider a wolf hunt for another five years.

There they are looking at wolf behavior and how a pack structure is changed when dominant males are killed.

"You have younger males vying for territory and fragmented packs may turn to livestock for food," he said.

Yet, state wildlife agencies have determined that populations are healthy enough to support a wolf hunt to benefit wildlife and people alike. Hunters in Montana may take 220 wolves in this year's hunt. As of Aug. 28, there were 5,331 resident wolf tags and 34 non-resident tags sold in Montana alone.

Gray Wolf Conservation and Management

Introduction The gray wolf is an endangered species throughout Washington under state law and is endangered under federal law in the western two-thirds of the state. Wolves were once common throughout most of Washington, but declined rapidly from being aggressively killed during the expansion of ranching and farming between 1850 and 1900. Wolves were essentially eliminated as a breeding species from the state by the 1930s, although infrequent reports of animals continued in the following decades, suggesting that small numbers of individuals continued to disperse into Washington from neighboring states and British Columbia. Reliable reports of wolves have been increasing in Washington since 2005 due in part to the recent recovery of wolf populations in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Washington now has a small breeding population of wolves in the initial stages of recovery. The state’s first fully confirmed wolf pack in many years was discovered in Okanogan County in 2008. This was followed by the discovery of single additional packs in Pend Oreille County in 2009 and 2010. In July 2011 packs were confirmed in both Kittitas and Stevens Counties. In 2007, in response to the expected return of wolves and the state management responsibility following federal delisting (as well as state law WAC 232-12-297 requirements), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) began developing a conservation and management plan for the species. The plan addresses two major issues: (1) recovery objectives and strategies for downlisting and delisting wolves at the state level. (2) management strategies to reduce and address wolf-livestock conflicts. Development of the plan in ongoing. The final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Recommended plan has been completed and will be presented to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission for consideration in August 2011.

Conservation Groups Lose Last Bid to Stop ID and MT Wolf Hunts

(SAN FRANCISCO)- Conservation groups can't convince the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to issue an injunction against upcoming wolf hunts in the Northern Rockies, with the panel rejecting arguments the rule allowing hunts is unconstitutional.

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies and other groups had argued a Congressional rider which removed the wolves from the Endangered Special List violated the Separation of Powers Doctrine because it barred the courts from overturning the change.

But Thursday the appeals court refused to enjoin the hunts while it hears the official appeal of the case from the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy here in Missoula. 

Molloy ruled last month the Congressional attachment to an appropriations bill in April may be unconstitutional, but case law kept him from accepting the conservationists' position.

That means the hunts can begin as scheduled, next week in Idaho and the following week in Montana. Both states plan the hunts to control the growing populations of wolves.

Alliance for the Wild Rockies is worried "hundreds of wolves" will be killed.

"We are discouraged we did win a stay of execution for wolves, but we are cautiously optimistic that we will win our lawsuit to protect wolves from future persecution," said John Horning, Executive Director for WildEarth Guardians.

"We lost the injunction, we have not lost the case," said Mike Garrity, Executive Director for Alliance for the Wild Rockies. "We will continue to fight to protect the wolves and enforce the Separation of Powers Doctrine in the U.S. Constitution."

The Congressional action came after Judge Molloy ruled last August that wolves in the two states couldn't be treated as a separate species and taken off the Endangered Species List.

Sweden Trying to 'Trick' EU on Wolf Hunt

A recent government decision to temporarily halt Sweden's licensed wolf hunt is nothing more than an attempt to fool the EU commission, environmental organisations claimed on Tuesday.
The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (Naturskyddsföreningen), World Wildlife Fund and the Predatory Animal Association (Svenska rovdjursföreningen) have decided to send the EU commission a joint statement on the matter.

“We feel that it’s highly important that we inform the EU commission that the government is trying to trick the commission. They’re pretending to halt the hunt but then continuing it again, despite the fact that the wolf population isn’t viable,” said Mikael Karlsson, chairman of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation , to Sveriges Radio (SR).

Several experts have argued that the wolf population in the Nordic countries needs to grow to at least three times its current size to remain viable.

Following pressure from the EU commission, the Swedish government agreed to stop the licensed wolf hunt this winter. However, they hope to resume this hunt as soon as the winter 2012-2013.

At the same time, the government opted to scrap the ceiling of 210 wolves culled annually for wildlife management purposes. Minister for the environment Andreas Carlgren claims that this does not mean that an unlimited number of wolves will be culled.

“Of course not. We will reach a favourable conservation status with as few wolves culled as possible,” he said to news agency TT.

Carlgren feels the EU commission have been unnecessarily rigid in their handling of the matter, meddling in something which ought to have remained a Swedish concern.

“Sweden’s policy on predators must be carried out with great consideration and respect for those that take the consequences of living near predators, that is the local population,” Carlgren told TT.

Sweden’s leading environmental agencies argue that the government’s actions show that they are trying to trick the commission, in an attempt to avoid a conviction in the European Court of Justice, and are now sending the EU commission a joint statement on the matter.

“The government seems to hope that through this maneuver the commission will be convinced to drop the case,” said Mikael Karlsson.

“But since they’ve committed to recommence licensed wolf hunts in 2013, both politically and in various documents, we feel the matter must be tried. We want a court precedent that hinders future licensed hunting,” he explained.

Wyoming Wolf Hunt Could Start by Next Fall

Wyoming could hold a wolf-hunting season as soon as next fall if state and federal officials move quickly enough to ratify an agreement to delist the animals in the state, according to Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission may also loosen reporting requirements for wolf kills when the commission meets next month to consider approving the landmark agreement, the officials said.

Under a deal announced Aug. 3 by Gov. Matt Mead and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wolves in the northwest part of the state would be protected as trophy game, meaning they could only be hunted with a license.

The plan also establishes a flex zone covering northern Sublette and Lincoln counties, as well as southern Teton County, in which wolves would be protected only from Oct. 15 until the end of the following February so they can connect with wolves in Idaho.

In the rest of the state, wolves would be considered predators and could be killed on sight, as long as the death is reported to the state afterward.

Under the plan, Wyoming would be required to maintain 100 wolves, including 10 breeding pairs. The numbers do not include wolves in Yellowstone National Park and on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Game and Fish is currently holding a series of meetings around the state to present the plan and collect feedback from the public. The feedback will be presented to the Game and Fish Commission in advance of its special meeting Sept. 14 in Casper to vote on the changes to the state’s wolf management plan.

The Wyoming Legislature and the Fish and Wildlife Service would also have to approve the deal.

During the first of those public meetings, held Tuesday night at the Game and Fish’s Casper office, few in the audience of 20 voiced their opinion on the wolf deal. That’s because Mark Bruscino, supervisor of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department bear management program, said only written comments would be passed along to the Game and Fish Commission.

In his presentation, Bruscino said that a wolf-hunting season could be established next fall if final approval comes by mid-2012.

That possibility was confirmed by Game and Fish spokesman Eric Keszler.

Bruscino also said the Game and Fish Commission would likely amend the state’s wolf management plan to relax reporting rules for people who shoot wolves.

Under the plan, anyone who kills a wolf in the state’s predator zone must report it to Game and Fish within 72 hours and bring in the animal so biologists can perform genetic testing on the animal, Bruscino said.

But Bruscino said state officials and Fish and Wildlife have agreed to scrap the requirement and make it voluntary.

Keszler said there has been talk of changing the reporting requirements, but nothing specific had been agreed upon. So far, he said, the Game and Fish Commission isn’t considering any other changes to the wolf management plan as agreed to in the deal.

Don Pavack, a Natrona County rancher and president of the Natrona County Farm and Ranch Bureau, said at the meeting that requiring ranchers lug in a wolf they shoot in the backcountry was completely unrealistic.

“If you’ve ever been on a trail moving cows on a seven-day or 10-day trail, you don’t have the luxury to stop for that,” he said.

In response to a question from a reporter, Bruscino also said that if the deal passes and wolves are officially labeled predators in much of the state, a landowner could go on his neighbor’s land to shoot a wolf menacing his or her livestock — even if the neighbor refuses to let him on his or her property.

In such cases, under existing Wyoming law, the livestock owner could petition his or her county commissioners to force the neighbor to allow access in order to kill the wolf.

Game and Fish will hold public meetings on the wolf deal today in Cody and Rock Springs, Monday in Cheyenne and Wednesday in Lander. The public can also submit comments to Game and Fish by mail or fax.

Pressure from EU Halts Legal Wolf Hunting in Sweden

According to Swedish Environmental Minister Andreas Carlgren, the government has decided to put a stop to its licensed wolf hunts, which it allowed last year for the first time in 45 years. The Swedish government, however, indicated that it will look into controlled hunting of “problem wolves.”

Wolf hunting, which was allowed last year in Sweden, will be temporarily halted following a threat of legal action from the European Union.

According to Swedish Environmental Minister Andreas Carlgren, the government has decided to put a stop to its licensed wolf hunts, which it allowed last year for the first time in 45 years.

Carlgren, in a news conference, indicated that the “temporary halt” was to "ensure that Sweden does not lose the right to decide on its own wolf population," the International Business Times reported.

Despite the issue of illegal poaching, two licensed wolf hunts, one in 2010 and one in 2011, were conducted in Sweden.

That moved by the Sweden government caught the attention of the EU.

According to EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potecnik, it was a violation of an EU directive.

Wolf hunting, in general, has been in practice in many countries for thousands of year. These animals are mainly hunted for sport, for their skin, to protect livestock, and, in some rare cases, to protect humans.

The wolf population in Sweden went extinct in the 1970s.

About ten years after it went extinct, the Swedish wolves recolonized from Finland, with an estimated 250 having descended from that batch.

Meanwhile, this year’s licensed wolf hunt in Sweden ended with 19 wolves shot out of the quota of 20.

Despite succumbing to the EU’s pressure, the Swedish government indicated that it will still look into controlled hunting of “problem wolves, according to Carlgren.

UK Leads Clampdown on Rhino Horn Trade

Rhino horn can fetch £50,000 a kilo.

Britain has secured international agreement to clamp down on the illegal trade of rhino horn, which has become so sought after it is worth more than diamonds, gold, heroin and cocaine.

The UK will lead a global steering group to dispel the myths that rhino horn can cure cancer or help stroke patients, which are fuelling demand for it in Asia and driving up its price to £50,000 a kilo.

Countries and conservation groups will share intelligence and policing tactics and work on public awareness campaigns against the illegal trade. The agreement was reached at the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species in Geneva.

The environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, said: "Criminals trading in rhino horn have lined their pockets while bringing this magnificent animal to the brink of extinction, but their days are now numbered.

"We will be leading global action to clamp down on this cruel and archaic trade, and to dispel the myths peddled to vulnerable people that drive demand for rhino products."

There has been a significant increase in the number of rhinos killed in countries such as South Africa since 2010, in what conservationists warn is a "poaching crisis".

The UK will support a workshop in South Africa in September to develop better co-operation between countries where rhinos are poached and those where their horns are sold.

Last September, after the UK's animal health agency detected a rise in the number of rhino horn products being sold through auction houses, it issued a warning that it would refuse almost all applications to export such items from the UK.

It was feared that the legal export of "worked items", such as ornaments, created and acquired before June 1947, was being used to send rhino horn to Asia, where it is powdered and used for medicinal purposes. The trade could stimulate the market for products from the endangered animal, fuelling poaching, officials said.

Under rules brought in for the UK and then backed by the EU, export licences are granted only if the item's artistic value exceeds its potential value on the black market, if it is part of a genuine exchange of goods between institutions such as museums, if it is being taken as an heirloom by a family moving country, or if it is part of a bona fide research project.

Vets, Safari Operators, Hunter Behind Rhino Killings

Johannesburg - Two veterinarians, two safari operators, and a professional hunter are among nine people who were arrested Monday during a police raids in South Africa. Over 200 rhinos have been killed in the country this year.

Dawie Groenewald, the wealthy driving force behind Out of Africa Adventurous Safaris in Polokwane, his wife, Sariette, and Tielman Erasmus, a professional hunter, are behind bars. They were arrested on Monday along with Dr Karel Toet and Dr Manie du Plessis, two veterinarians from Modimolle, and Toet's wife, Marisa, the news24.com news portal has reported.

Groenewald, a former police official, was suspended from the South African Professional Hunters Association four years ago. Zimbabwe too had put an end to his activities. He was arrested in the US in April this year in connection with a leopard trophy which was illegally hunted in South Africa and exported to the US. He pleaded guilty and was fined US$30 000.

Groenewald is linked to a closed corporation which owns a Robinson R44 helicopter with the registration ZS-HBH. His wife, Sariette, is listed as a director of Valinor Trading 142 - the owner of the helicopter. Helicopters are known to be used during rhino poaching operations.

The Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa (PHASA) said it was hugely disappointing that professional people who held trusted positions in society, could be involved in such a crime, the Mail and Guardian newspaper reported. "PHASA will support any motion to oppose bail given to these people. The mere R2 000 bail that was recently awarded in another case, is a crime by itself," said Adri Kitshoff, PHASA's chief executive officer.

The South African Veterinary Council said that any veterinarian found guilty of disgracing the profession through improper conduct may be barred from practising. "The council may impose, if a person is found guilty of disgraceful, improper or unprofessional conduct... [punishment ranging] from a reprimand to the withdrawal of registration to practise as a veterinarian," it said in a statement.

Rhino poaching has spiked dramatically since 2008 with 210 slaughtered so far this year and 122 in 2009, according to the Endangered Wildlife Trust. South Africa was home to about 90 per cent of the white rhinos in Africa.

Rhino horn has been used for centuries in Chinese traditional medicine, where it is ground into a powder and mixed with hot water to treat rheumatism, gout, high fever and even possession by the devil. Of late, it has started being used as an aphrodisiac. In some southeast Asian countries it is also seen as a cancer remedy.

After EU Threat, Sweden Halts Hunting of Endangered Wolves

After a threat of legal action from the European Union, Swedish Environmental Minister Andreas Carlgren says the government has decided to put a halt to its licensed wolf hunts.

The "temporary halt" was to "ensure that Sweden does not lose the right to decide on its own wolf population," Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren told a news conference.

Swedish wolves actually went extinct in the 1970s, though they recolonized from Finland 10 years later. Today, all of the roughly 250 Swedish wolves have descended from those few founding individuals.

Thus, the population is highly inbred, suffering from skeletal abnormalities and reproduction problems. A new study, reported in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggests that illegal poaching accounts for over half of all deaths of Swedish wolves. Of that, researchers suggest that over two-thirds of poaching goes undetected.

The study predicts that without the last decade of poaching, wolves would have numbered around a thousand by 2009, four times the number reported that year. While illegal poaching is a great concern, last year, Sweden allowed wolf hunting for the first time in 45 years.

Sweden has held two licensed wolf hunts, one in 2010 and one 2011. This year's ended with 19 out of the quota of 20 wolves shot. This caught the attention of EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potecnik, who claimed that it was a violation of an EU directive.

Though Carlgren argues that the commission's interpretation is "rigid" and does not allow flexibility for local conditions, the nation has agreed to stop the hunting. However, the Swedish Government has stated that it will look into controlled hunting of "problem wolves."

Sweden has long defended the practice in order to secure public support for a viable wolf population in the Nordic nation among groups like hunters, farmers, and reindeer herders.

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation welcomed the government's announcement, but added that it needed to study the proposals in greater detail.

No Wolf Hunting This Winter

No licenses to hunt wolves will be issued in Sweden this winter, the government has promised the EU. The current license, whereby a maximum of 210 wolves may be killed, will be halted for the time being, reports Swedish Radio News.

The announcement is seen as a move by the Swedish government to meet the EU Commission half way. The Commission has been critical of Sweden’s wolf policy, saying its licensing of wolf hunting is in breach of EU environmental regulations.

The Swedish government has made the policy change to avoid the possibility of being hauled before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Wolves will still be allowed to be hunted in cases where it is deemed they pose a danger to other animals.

New Species of Dinosaur-era EEL Wriggles Into History Books as a 'Living Fossil'

First eel: The new species discovered in an undersea cave is a 'living fossil', astonishingly similar to the first eels that swam some 200 million years ago

A new species of eel has been discovered which is so old that it retains its dinosaur-era characteristics and has been branded a 'living fossil'. The eel was found in a cave beneath the Pacific Ocean in the Republic of Palau, which is around 500 miles east of the Philippines. 
The reddish brown eel is just 1.7 inches long and has many of the hallmarks of the primitive eels of the Mezozoic era - some 200million years ago.
Such is its anatomical age, the species has required an entirely new breed of classification from scientists, because none of the other 819 species, which are grouped into 19 families, would suffice.

It has been called Protoanguilla Palau, which is a mix of Greek and Latin meaning 'first eel', and is the only example of the newly-created taxonomic family, Protoanguillidae.

The discovery was made by a team from the Natural History Museum and Institute in Chiba, Japan, led by Masaki Miya, which reported it s findings in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Among the ages-old features of the eel are a disproportionately large head compared to its short body, distinctive gills and iridescent fins with white piping. 'The eel looks so bizarre - large head with relatively short body and various unique, internal characters - that no ichthyologist, including us, correctly identified it as a member of true eel at first sight,' Miya told Discovery News.Eight specimens of the P. Palau were collected by hand using nets and lamps, varying between 3-4 inches long, and were DNA tested to ensure they were part of the eels genetic family.

Its cave home is at the western end of a fringing reef - one of three types of reef, alongside barrier reefs and atolls - of Ngemelis Island, Palau.

The cave in an undersea ridge is estimated to be between 60 and 70 million years old, and while it may have once been more widely populous - and could still be - it is currently only known to exist in this one location.

That has led to discussions about making it an endangered species to protect it from curious divers and avaricious aquariums looking for unique exhibits.  

It has also raised as many questions as it has answered for evolutionary biologists, with 'living fossils' being rare discoveries.

The term was first used by Charles Darwin in his book On The Origin of Species to describe species that have survived for millions of years with barely any evolution due to 'having inhabited a confined area, and from having thus been exposed to less severe competition.'

UK's first Arctic wolves come to Beenham

UK Wolf Conservation’s Trust to show three Arctic wolf cubs, the first ever seen in the UK

THE first ever Arctic wolf cubs seen in the UK will be on show in Beenham at the UK Wolf Conservation’s Trust (UKWCT) open day.

Visitors at the open day on Monday, August 29, will have the opportunity to see and take photographs of all the Trust’s wolves from specially adapted viewing points.

The three special cubs were born at Parc Safari in Canada during a fierce snowstorm which left them fighting for their lives after suffering hypothermia.

They were rescued by staff from the park and hand-reared before being brought to the UK where they will now become ambassadors for their wild cousins.

The UKWCT is offering the unique trio a home where they will join the Trust’s own set of Beenham wolf cubs born in April this year.

The addition of this year’s cubs bring the total number of wolves at the park to 12.

They live in smaller packs in three large enclosures, and act as ambassadors for their species to help Trust staff and volunteers raise awareness about the conservation of their wild cousins.

Money raised goes towards supporting scientific research and education programmes throughout Europe, North America and Africa.

Grizzly Bears

Grizzly bears are a subspecies of brown bear, set apart by their size, their silver-tipped fur and their trademark hump of upper-back muscles. Scientists think North American grizzlies (Ursus arctos horribilis) evolved from Asia's Ussuri brown bears, which migrated into Alaska from Siberia some 100,000 years ago.

They eventually spread as far as Mexico and the Great Lakes, but European settlers and U.S. pioneers later wiped them out across most of the Lower 48 states, leaving only a few pockets in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Washington. All U.S. grizzlies were added to the endangered species list in 1975 except those in Alaska, where they're still abundant.

60 Parks in 60 Days

These 60 stories are essentially a user's guide for America's incredible park system.

Mother Nature Network is exploring a wide variety of national, state and local gems, from the country's most famous national park to the special city park that only the locals know about. We've crisscrossed the nation to give you a taste of the country's best parks.

 We'll be bringing you a new park every day from now through Aug. 31. Join us for the ride.

Park primer Glacier National Park

Here's a place where all the superlatives apply — from the mountain views to the colors in the landscape ... oh, and don't forget the grizzly bears.

Glacier National Park in northwest Montana is a place befitting Big Sky Country. The park’s million-plus acres contain more than 1,500 miles of stream, six mountain peaks taller than 10,000 feet, 25 named glaciers and more than 745 miles of hiking trails from which to explore it all.

It’s a place big enough and wild enough for grizzly bears. It’s a place so unpredictable you can have 90-degree days and a foot of snow all within the month of August. It’s a place where a person can feel small — and sometimes that’s a good thing. 

History

Glacier National Park — established as the country’s 10th national park on May 11, 1910, when President William Howard Taft signed the enabling legislation — borders Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park. The adjoining parks were named Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park when designated as the world's first International Peace Park in 1932. The United Nations designated the parks as Biosphere Reserves in 1976 and as World Heritage sites in 1995.

Things to do

Every visitor has to take a drive along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, 50 miles of white-knuckle driving through the heart of the park. The road — which this year wasn’t completely clear of snow until July 13 — passes through forests and alpine tundra. There are spectacular views of mountain peaks and alpine lakes — and you can get a sense of the views via the park's numerous webcams. There are scenic overlooks and trailheads. The speed limit is just 40 mph, but you won’t want to go that fast.

In 1983, Going-To-The-Sun Road was included in the National Register of Historic Places and in 1985 was made a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

The park’s 700+ miles of hiking trails offer dozens of day hike options. Easy hikes for families with small children include Trail of the Cedars, the Rocky Point Trail, the Oxbow Trail, Avalanche Lake and Hidden Lake Nature Trail.

Leave the road, and the trail, by seeing Glacier National Park by boat. Glacier Park Boat Company offers boat tours at Many Glacier, Lake McDonald, Rising Sun on St. Mary Lake and Two Medicine. The boat tour starting from the dock at Many Glacier Hotel, for example, includes a trip across Swiftcurrent Lake, a short walk to Lake Josephine and a cruise across the second lake.

And if you want to travel behind a boat, water skiing is permitted on Lake McDonald and St. Mary Lake.

Why you’ll want to come back

Bring a passport so next time you can drive the Chief Mountain Highway to Waterton Lakes National Park across the border in Canada.

Flora and fauna

If you want to see a grizzly bear in the wild, this is a pretty good place to look. Glacier National Park is home to 62 species of mammals, including black bears, moose, elk, mountain goat and bighorn sheep. Predators found in the park include the gray wolf, lynx, wolverine and cougar.

By the numbers:

• Website: Glacier National Park
• Park size: 1,013,594 acres or 1,583 square miles
• 2010 visitation: 2,200,048
• Funky fact: Water, water everywhere: Glacier National Park contains 762 lakes, only 131 of which are named.

This is an element of MNN's 60 parks in 60 days project, a user's guide for America's incredible park system. Come with us as we explore a wide variety of national, state and local gems, from the country's most famous national park to that special city park that only the locals know about. We'll be adding a new park every day from now until the end of August — one more reason to visit MNN more frequently.