This article is an adaptation of our weekly Animals newsletter that was originally sent out on May 13, 2021. Want this in your inbox? Sign up here.
By Rachael Bale, ANIMALS Executive Editor
Something I learned quickly when I started working in wildlife journalism: People have thoughts about wolves. A lot of thoughts. They’re one of the most polarizing species we report on. To some, they’re majestic icons of North America’s wilderness. To others, they’re dangerous and crafty—preying on ranchers’ cattle and killing off elk (a much-contested claim).
It’s taken decades of dedicated work to bring back gray wolves to the Lower 48 after they were nearly wiped out by hunters and ranchers by the turn of the 20th century. Today, there are at least 6,000, and the species has been declared recovered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (also a much-contested move).
But now, there’s a new “war on wolves,” many conservationists say, one that could threaten their survival once again. In Idaho, a new law allows for the killing of up to 90 percent of the state’s gray wolves, Douglas Main reported last week. In Montana, a suite of new bills and laws allows hunters to kill as many wolves as they want and expands the ways in which they can do so, including by using methods that even some hunters say are unethical, Natasha Daly reports today. And in February, Wisconsin hunters killed more than 200 wolves in just three days, far above the limit the state had set for its first wolf hunting season since Wisconsin’s wolves had been removed from the endangered species list.
Conservationists, scientists, and even many hunting organizations have condemned these activities, and environmental groups are gearing up to oppose many of the new laws. (Top photo, a gray wolf in Idaho; above, wolf, elk, and mule deer hunting in the backcountry of Gallatin National Forest, Montana.)
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INSTAGRAM PHOTO OF THE DAY
Fluffing up: An adult sandhill crane uses its long neck to delicately preen its hard-to-reach feathers in Ladner, in western Canada. This crane is one of the adults in a family that hangs around the Vancouver area throughout the year. “As a photographer I am fascinated by them as they are very difficult to compose in a photograph,” says Shane Kayln, whose photo was selected as an Editor’s Pick from #YourShotPhotographer. “I find those moments when they preen their feathers a great time to photograph them as they fluff the feathers up and bend their body in all sorts of ways to reach each of the feathers.”
See the photos: Hunters vs. the sandhill crane
TODAY IN A MINUTE
A Pacific footballfish: That’s the name of the weird, deep-sea creature that washed up on a California beach. Normally found 3,000 feet below the surface, the 18-inch wide-mouthed fish is a cousin to the anglerfish, known for the light bulb-like antennae that lure prey into its jagged jaws. Authorities don’t know how the fish ended up on the shore of Crystal Cove State Park, the Los Angeles Times reports.
A forever home for circus elephants: Under fire from animal rights groups, U.S. circuses have phased out using elephants in their shows. A herd of the Asian elephants has been moved safely to a new Florida forest habitat, where they will be joined by as many as 20 others, Nat Geo’s Dina Fine Maron tells us. The 2,500-acre reserve, with 11 waterholes, lets the animals choose among wetlands, grasslands, and woodlands, Oliver Whang reported last fall.
A royal botch? A prince of the tiny nation of Liechtenstein has been accused of illegally killing Europe’s largest bear. The prince had permission during a Romanian trophy hunt to kill a menacing female bear, not Arthur, as the giant 17-year-old brown bear was named, the Washington Post reports.
Oil vs. wildlife: Lions, giraffes, and endangered savanna elephants depend on a fragile, 7,000-square-mile desert wetland in northwestern Botswana. Upstream, an oil company is disposing of wastewater without permits and ignoring local concerns about the impact of exploration and drilling, our Wildlife Watch unit reports. Drilling for the first test well began in January. Follow this project through Wildlife Watch, the investigative reporting project between National Geographic Society and National Geographic Partners focusing on wildlife crime and exploitation.
Wandering big cats: Three leopards escaped from an eastern China zoo, which kept quiet about the getaway until the news got out. Two of the big cats have been recaptured, and a team with 90 live chickens as bait are looking for the third, the New York Times reports. Meanwhile, in Houston, a man free on bond from a murder charge was returned to custody after neighbors found a pet tiger wandering around a Houston neighborhood. The tiger was not immediately found, the Associated Press reports.
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OVERHEARD AT NAT GEO
Python in your vehicle: Don’t you just hate it when an uninvited guest slithers in for the ride? That’s what happened in Mozambique to photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Charlie Hamilton James, who discovered the giant snake coiled up in the undercarriage. In a TikTok video, Charlie appears amused at the visitor, which freaks out a colleague. See it.
What about you? Would a python in the car amuse or alarm you? Let us know!
IN A FEW WORDS
Humans have a strong urge to feed wild animals in their environment. Sometimes we think we’re doing them a favor, but not necessarily.
Janet Mann, Nat Geo Explorer Marine biologist, Georgetown University, From: The Price They Pay for Your Perfect Vacation Photo
THE BIG TAKEAWAY
Bubble blower: This adult male water anole is underwater with a partially-formed bubble on its snout. Scientists have discovered that these Caribbean and Latin American lizards can re-breathe oxygen in these bubbles to extend their time underwater. Roger Seymour, a Nat Geo Explorer and biologist at Australia’s University of Adelaide, told Nat Geo that this behavior might help the animals rid their lungs of accumulated carbon dioxide. The research was funded in part by the National Geographic Society.
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THE LAST GLIMPSE
Navigating the seas: You might need Google Maps to get where you need to go, but sharks rely only on Earth’s magnetic field. Scientists have long wondered how these fish pull off journeys from South Africa to Australia and back. Now they’ve added sharks to the list of animals who travel by sensing the magnetic field, says biologist and Nat Geo Explorer Bryan Keller, who conducted the study. Others animals that rely on the magnetic field include birds, sea turtles, and salmon, Tim Vernimmen reports for Nat Geo. (Above, a bonnethead shark—the species used in the new study—swims in Boston’s New England Aquarium.)
This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard and Monica Williams, with photo selections by Jen Tse. Have an idea, a link, a story about a snake that got in your home or car? We’d love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com.
