Introducing Estonia's Wolves.

Facts, rather than myths, about Estonia's wolves
Liis
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Re: Introducing Estonia's Wolves.

Post by Liis »

The wolf howl -
We have had some more information: 30 minutes after the howl was heard on the boar camera that night, Feb 25/26, wolves showed up at forum member Okaskera's eagle feeding ground in the neighbourhood.
Okaskera believes that the recording is of a genuine howl, and just in case it is not, such a good imitation that wolves nearby would be sure to reply to it quickly. Two wolves are moving around near Ilmatsalu at present.
Thank you to Okaskera for the info!


In case they know the hunting calendar, wolves can move more openly again from today - the regular wolf hunt period in Estonia has ended for this winter.
Liis
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Post by Liis »

Just possibly "our" two wolves with transmitters, Hall and Habe, have visited Latvia.
Article in Eesti Päevaleht, EPL, March 5th; couldn't get the whole of it during the 5 mins you are allowed to read for free :book:. Did anyone else?
Hopefully Marko Kübarsepp will tell more here.
Liis
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Post by Liis »

Transmitter-marked wolves Hall and Habe are still roaming around in Estonia.

Meanwhile, a Swedish female wolf - thought to be Finnish-Russian originally - is stubbornly making her way up north again, after having been captured there and transported to somewhere in central Sweden 4 times. :innocent:

"Home" is around Junsele, for friends of GSE Tõnn some 100-150 km NE of Tõnn's summer area. This time our wolf was released somewhere N of Stockholm; and has been seen 3 days later, on Wednesday, around Gävle, 160-170 km northwards.
She still has 350 km to go to Junsele ...

The attraction, likewise the reason she is not wanted there, is reindeer meat. It is her favourite food, and it seems she goes straight for the reindeer pasture lands.
Liis
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Post by Liis »

Wolf as tightrope walker or balance artist?!


See Wolf Year photos at http://v124.itrotid.ee/pildid.php, Ingmar Muusikus' photo, top row, 4th from left: narrow tree trunk over river; Ingmar Musikus writes that tracks show that at least 2 wolves had crossed on it.
Liis
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Post by Liis »

The Swedish wolf, "Junsele-vargen", trekking back home for the 4th time after being transported southwards, had just 70 km left to go on Tuesday.

She was east of the town of Sollefteå. Cost of transports (helicopter) etc is said to be a few million Sw. kronor.
I do hope she will survive both legal and illegal actions but it doesn't look too promising.
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Eden
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Post by Eden »

This seems to be an incredible, wolf depising action.
Why does people consider it to be necessary to transport this wolf southwards?
Only because of the reindeers which she needs sometimes?
For these transport costs of a few million Sw. kronor, it would be possible to buy a complete herd of reindeers for her….
One planet meets another. Planet 1 says to Planet 2, “Hey you look terrible”. Planet 2 says, “Yes I know. I have Homo Sapiens.” Planet 1 says, “Don’t worry. I had that too and it will soon disappear.
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Post by Liis »

About this wolf -
you are right, Eden, it looks very messy and contradictory on the surface.
There seems to have been a chain of not very good decisions. Difficult to say which could have been - were? - foreseen and prevented.

A major objection to the handling is now that she should have been kept for some time in the area to where she was moved, after it was seen that she so obstinately went back.

This wolf wants to be in an area with some 1500 reindeer. Hunting and killing one means that the others are scared and spread out all over a very large area, involving a very long period of collecting them. It is believed that she got a firm taste for reindeer when she was young.

For the reindeer owners, getting damages money is probably not the same as being able to go on with their work as they want it. I don't know how well the money covers all losses. The discussion by now is certainly more about very set opinions rather than balancing facts.

May 28th: The Junsele wolf is as already said back in her territory up North. She had lost her GPS device, or the fastening may have been released by the authorities. :mrgreen:
Most recently an order (local authorities?) to allow "protective hunting" was withdrawn by higher court.
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Post by Jo UK »

Some research into the nature of the wolf howl.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23767354
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Fleur
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Post by Fleur »

interesting, thank you for the link Jo
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macdoum
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Post by macdoum »

An extract from The Bear Daily updates,after The Wolf symposia in Deluth Minnisota attended by Lynn Rogers;
As we arrived back in the study area last evening, a big-toothed aspen (Populus grandidentata) we had been watching turn color was not only in full rich gold color but the setting sun was giving it an extra glow. Red squirrel
Red squirrel
We took it as a good omen.

We’re still reeling from the good feelings of being among supportive people who love bears and wolves. What a great job they did in putting together an informative symposium with many speakers. It was a great time of networking by Bear Center staff with wolf biologists from around the world. What a change in attitude toward wolves since the old days. Instead of just trying to get rid of them through trapping and bounty hunting, many people are now appreciating them.

We remember decades ago when Dave Mech was saying that scientific publishing was not enough. For an animal that is limited by human attitudes, biologists have not gotten the ball over the goal line unless they have reached out to the public. Dave published books and articles that made wolves more than villains. He created a broad interest that led to the huge national wolf recovery effort and great appreciation of these intelligent, social animals. Today, people want to see wolves.

At the symposium banquet, Lynn sat next to a man who was leading an effort to bring economic gain to Thompson, Manitoba, by promoting wolf viewing. The same thing is being done in Finland. Other countries with wolves are showing similar interest. It’s kind of like the bear viewing industry that has developed for Churchill, Manitoba, with polar bears and in Katmai National Park, Alaska, with brown bears. And the animals benefit along with the communities who value them.
General feeling: Let the wolves live in peace :2thumbsup:
Full update by Brit; http://www.bearstudy.org/website/update ... 2013-.html
Carmel a member of SHOW .. I hope you love birds too. Its economical. It saves going to heaven.
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Liis
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Post by Liis »

End of Year of Wolf and Start of Ringer Seal Year celebration in Tallinn today.
Any chance of video record for us who can't go, please?
Katinka

Post by Katinka »

Oh, it's not quite the end of the wolf's year!
First - it took a little bit long to come across this topic (not too deeply interested in "the wolf", shame! for they've returned to Germany since longer...)
Second - exactly tomorrow we have the chance to watch an outstanding doc on TV (and as a constant "Arte TV" watcher I couldn't let it be unwritten here).
So, for German/French speaking - Dec 24 at 23:25 (D) or 0:00 (F) on Arte, for 75 min. -
and the bonus on 1 christmas day, for radio listeners in Finland Dec 25 9:05 on YLE puhe, for 30 min.

Here the 2 links:
http://www.arte.tv/guide/de/048062-000/wolfman
http://areena.yle.fi/radio/2094309

and
the nice sounding short vids about the doc:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1mRm7cvhBg with the film editor Juha Suonpää
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hEiIgfgdQA with a young, committed Finnish guy

Enjoy, and stay thoughtful!
Katinka

Post by Katinka »

Again, not too late for the topic of this thread - I came across the name of Marko Kübarsepp -- http://www.looduskalender.ee/en/node/15843 --
(THX to the latest LK article (...15767) dealing with the dimension of scabies which wolfes try to :sad: survive with)
As it's 2 days back that the enlightening doc of the wolf man Seppo Ronkainen was broadcasted via Arte TV, I still have the "135" in mind.
That's for the number of wolfes that are assumed to live in Finland. To be compared with that in Estonia.
I suppose the both "wolf men" do know each other.
Which one can better imitate the howls in all expressions?...
But (regretfully) nothing was said about this infection, for Finnish means.
You can hardly look at the poor picture of the ill wolfes that Marko captured with his trail cam in 2009.
In the film we learn that a wolf couple stays together lifelong - except they "know" that they're relatives.
Stunning.
Katinka

Post by Katinka »

Liis wrote:from Feb 27 - The wolf in Estonian folk traditions and beliefs -
....
Ilmar Rootsi's, saying that Estonians respected wolves .... vs. Marju Kõivapuu's, telling that Estonians saw the wolf as an unpleasant but rather silly creature....
PS. Does anyone know of a nice, friendly song or poem or tale about wolves?
Oh so easy, Liis! You've waited for a feedback here so long...but you'll know:
AHa - Cry Wolf, 1986
It's in my singles' collection :blush:
Liis
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Post by Liis »

A fascinating - and haunting - report from the lives of wolves by Marko Kübarsepp and Peep Männil on front page.
Almost heart-breaking to read about wolves journeying to search for a lost companion.
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macdoum
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Post by macdoum »

Yes Liis,its so sad. I have just read the report. :slap:
Carmel a member of SHOW .. I hope you love birds too. Its economical. It saves going to heaven.
Emily Dickinson
Katinka

Post by Katinka »

To read of hunt on wolves once again - I don't wonder. It's this animal's legend to be a threat to everyone...Even here in our dense civilisation, I heard a friend lamenting about the danger for his children when playing in the forest!!
I refer to the experiences of Seppo Ronkainen, as before.
Thanks to anybody who'd play a role on giving the wolf species a new face.
Liis
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Post by Liis »

Recalling the dead?

On front page http://www.looduskalender.ee/en/node/19216
is a plea from Sweden for help to stop the hunt - and almost certainly killing - of Susi and her present mate

Whatever else, the procedure that grants protective hunting permit to the Sami villages now is strange. Naturvårdsverket / Swedish National Environmental Protection Agency this time included in their decision a stipulation for carrying out the decision, even if an appeal to higher court were submitted.

So, since hunting permission was decided, Susi will be killed irrespective of the outcome of a court appeal.
When somebody is found to be wrongly killed - how then is that to be corrected?

Susi is the wolf who has been moved 3 times from reindeer grounds in the north, and each time returned, last time in spring 2013, being back within less than a week of having been set free.
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Post by Liis »

About Susi, or the Junsele wolf, update Feb. 20th, 2014

The Swedish Admnistrative Court of Appeal (Kammarrätten) after all stopped the hunt that was to have started on Monday Feb 17th, until the decision by SNV (Swedish Environmental Agency) to shoot Susi and her mate has been examined again.

Meanwhile it has been decided that the decision last autumn to shoot Susi was legally correct :mrgreen: .
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