Wolf Connection

We were very excited to speak with Eric Odell, the Wolf Conservation Manager from Colorado Parks & Wildlife about the upcoming release of wolves in Colorado!

Eric went into great detail about the wolf reintroduction plan in Colorado, and all the factors surrounding the initial release of wolves in Colorado. Make sure to head to the Colorado Parks & Wildlife website here to learn all about the wolf plan, and stay up to date on all wolf news from Colorado.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! (wolf, mic, sparkles)

Charlee and Jax enjoy some "herb enrichment bundles" made of rosemary, mint, and basil. 🌿

We put these together for them as one of our many forms of enrichment. Herb bundles add not only a tactile engagement to be chewed and teared apart, but also providing scents to sniff. Extraordinarily, a wolf's sense of smell is up to 100k times greater than a human's! Under the right conditions a wolf can smell something from 300 yards up to 1 mile away. A lot of times, enrichment with the chosen scent can invite scent rolling and rubbing as you see them both doing. It makes them quite playful!

Jax, who shows up here after Charlee, naturally emanates joy and excitement, and really brings out those qualities in his partner. Charlee, our female Pack Leader, is otherwise usually quite calm, reflective, and intuitive.

We had a fantastic conversation with Wildlife Ecologist Taylor Ganz about her work in the Washington Predator-Prey Project! She went into great detail about her research that evaluated how ungulates respond to predators, forage dynamics, and landscape change driven by humans, including wildfire and timber harvest.

Visit the Washington Predator-Prey Project to learn more!

Taylor spoke in detail about her research at the Washington Predator-Prey Project, the landscapes in Washington where the studies are being performed, and her future endeavors she's currently pursuing.

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We had our second consecutive podcast talking about Red Wolves, and this week we spoke with Executive Director of Red Wolf Coalition, Kim Wheeler!

Kim spoke to us about her journey to Red Wolf Coalition, the state of the Red Wolf population today, and the long-term mission for the species.

The Red Wolf Coalition (RWC) advocates for the long-term survival of red wolf populations by teaching about the red wolf, fostering public involvement in red wolf conservation and envisions the long-term survival of free ranging, self-sustaining red wolf populations at three or more sites.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺 🎙️ ✨

Photos are courtesy of Rosamund Gifford Zoo and Robert Wilcox

Did you know that some wolves do their own landscaping in their habitats?

Wolves are super chewers with powerful jaws. The bite force of a wolf is almost 400 pounds of pressure per square inch! Chewing on sticks and other natural items can be beneficial to their teeth, like flossing for wolves.

Our pack will also chew on and remove branches or twigs to make a comfy place to lay for an afternoon nap. Here’s Journey making some improvements or possibly preparing her next sleepy spot while nanny Nova looks on.

🐺 Want to support Journey’s developing landscaping talents? Click here and sponsor a wolf!
https://wolfconnection.org/sponsorship/

We wanted to kick off Wolf Awareness Week by sharing a conversation brewing at Wolf Connection for some time now, as well as in many corners of the wolf community. Should we stop saying “Alpha” and instead use the phrase Pack Leader?

Many years after Kenai came to us, we identified him as our Alpha, after our original Alpha Omak passed away. As time went on and more research came out about the ways wolves actually self-organize, we began to change our language toward calling him our male Pack Leader.

At Wolf Connection we’ve noticed that many of the wolves tend to shift and share roles, or even embody multiple roles from day to day. This includes Kenai too!

We’ve come to realize that we can better honor wolves by having more flexibility in how we assign roles to them. And in doing so, we can better honor ourselves as well.

Just as there are many nuances to how wolves organize themselves, there’s also nuance in how they play out those roles. We teach this in our Academy, too, that there are so many different types of leaders.

So we thought we’d put it out to all of you. What do you think? What’s your definition of a leader?

We had a fantastic discussion with Zach Lee about his photography and conservation efforts pertaining to Red Wolves! He is an incredible advocate for this endangered species, and you can check out his work on Instagram .jpg

Zach spoke to us about his journey to North Carolina where he's currently based, how he became involved photographing Red Wolves, and how he helps local NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations) in spreading information about the species.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺🎙️✨

It's Howl'oween week here at Wolf Connection! 🎃

Partners Annie (all white) and Torben (on the roof) howl together daily. Annie’s past has only solidified her inner strength, making her a true warrior. Tender and giving, Torben embraces vulnerability and loves to learn from those around him.

✨This week we’re celebrating everyone's unique howl in advance of our event this Saturday. The theme is "Reflection." What will you discover inside? Answer the howl and find out!

🐺 Have you gotten your ticket yet?
https://wolfconnection.org/event/howloween-2023/

We had a highly informative discussion with Erik Molvar from Western Watersheds Project about the ways they are looking to protect wolves in the United States!

Erik is the Executive Director for Western Watersheds Project, and is also the author of 16 hiking guidebooks and backpacking techniques manuals for national parks and wilderness areas spanning the West from Alaska to Arizona.

Erik spoke about the history of wolves throughout the United States, and the conflicts they face from many fronts in the present day.

The mission of Western Watersheds Project (WWP) is to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife through education, public policy initiatives, and legal advocacy.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺 🎙️ ✨

We had a lively conversation with Monica Stahlmann, Clint Burson & Brooke George on this episode!

Monica is the author of Trumpet the Miracle Wolf Pup book series. She shared updates on the books, and provided exciting information on the wolf named Trumpet and her pups!

Clint is the Strategic Communications Manager for LightHawk Conservation Flying, and Brooke is their Wildlife Program Manager. LightHawk has flown many endangered species across the country that are in active recovery programs in the wild, including Mexican Gray and Red Wolves.

Clint and Brooke explained the mission of LightHawk, the planning that goes into flying different animal species, and how they've helped transport Mexican Gray Wolves to their natural habitat.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platforms! 🐺🎙️✨

Cue the opening of a mysterious woodland. A full moon rises over the trees, followed by the long, low, haunting howl of a wolf. We’ve all seen it in the movies, but is that real—the wolves are howling at the moon?

The answer is...perhaps richer than the myth. Wolves don't howl specifically at the moon. However, they do howl at night, while Earth’s largest nighttime celestial companion is high.

A wolf howls to communicate with other wolves. These vocalizations are one of a few primary ways they do so, the other two being body language and scent chemistry. Howling is the tie that binds a pack. Let's all howl together–wherever we are–at tonight's Harvest Super Moon! 🌕

On the latest episode of The Wolf Connection podcast, we spoke with incredible wildlife photographer Ben Bluhm, about his amazing wolf photos! Swipe through the photos and hear Ben describe the stories behind each one. Follow Ben on Instagram to see more outstanding wildlife!

Ben has been photographing wildlife for over 3 years and volunteers with Utah Mountain Lion Conservation. He has used some of his photos to help non-profit organizations with visual storytelling and promoting their missions.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform!🐺🎤✨

We recently spoke with Claire Davis of Washington Wildlife First, concerning the issues of wildlife management in the state of Washington. She spoke about the continued mismanagement of wolves within the state by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Claire is the Founder of Washington Wildlife First and Animal & Earth Advocates, a Seattle-area law firm that brings public interest litigation on behalf of animals, wildlife, and the environment.

Washington Wildlife First is the only Washington nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to monitoring and reforming the state agency that is supposed to protect the state's fish and wildlife.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺 🎙️ ✨

Visit wolfconnection.org for opportunities to sponsor one of our pack members, donate, or become a volunteer!

Brad Orsted released his first memoir, Through the Wilderness: My Journey of Redemption and Healing in the American Wild, in late June of this year. We were thrilled to speak with him again on the latest episode of The Wolf Connection Podcast! Visit his website (www.bradleyorsted.com) or wherever books are sold to purchase a copy.

Brad is an award-winning wildlife and conservation filmmaker/photographer, author, speaker and wilderness therapy instructor. He spoke to us about his process of writing his memoir, his feelings surrounding its release to the public, and the message he hopes it conveys to those who read it.

Catch up on all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺 🎙️ ✨

We were excited to listen to John E. Marriott's stories about photographing wolves on our latest podcast! John has two incredible wolf books - The Kootenay Wolves: Five Years Following a Wild Wolf Pack and The Pipestone Wolves: The Rise and Fall of a Wolf Family available on his website.

He spoke at length about his experiences as a young, up and coming photographer, his wolf books, and his conservation efforts in Canada's wilderness.

John has been photographing wildlife for over 30 years and has authored multiple books on wolves, bears and national parks. He is involved in Canadian conservation issues with his non-profit organization, EXPOSED Wildlife Conservancy, which provides ethical and science-based solutions to solve the most pressing wildlife management challenges today.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺 🎙️ ✨

We were excited to learn of Michelle Lute's new position at Wildlife For All as the Co-Executive Director! Their mission is to reform wildlife management in the U.S. to be more democratic, compassionate and focused on protecting wild species and ecosystems.

Michelle spoke about the efforts of Wildlife For All, the impacts of wildlife management on wolves and other predators, and how collaboration could be the key to reach solutions for wildlife and wild lands.

She is a conservation scientist and advocate with nearly twenty years experience in biodiversity conservation on public and private lands around the globe.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform!🐺🎙️✨

We first heard about John Marchwick's story at the Yellowstone Wolf Summit in Gardiner, Montana. John is a multi-generational Montanan who grew up in the Greater Yellowstone area, and as a young child he was taught to have a hatred towards wolves. However, at 15 years old, wolf OR-54 whom he learned about from a family relative in California, began to change his perception of wolves. He is currently a sophomore at Cal Poly Humboldt majoring in wildlife management and conservation, and hopes one day to become a wolf biologist.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺 🎙️ ✨

We met Dave Stalling at the Yellowstone Wolf Summit in Gardiner, Montana, and were thrilled he accepted our invitation to be a guest on the podcast!

He spoke about his deep passion for Grizzly Bears, nature, and all predators including wolves. He shared beliefs within his hunting circles and communities, which led to his departure from several organizations and why he feels wildlife management practices need to change.

Dave is a former Force Recon Marine, who has a deeper understanding of what it means to be part of the natural world. He was the former conservation writer for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundations - Bugle Magazine for a decade. He has also worked for the U.S. Forest Service, the National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited and is a past President of the Montana Wildlife Federation. He now serves on the Advisory Committee for Wildlife for All.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺 🎙️ ✨

Katie Jackson is a freelance writer who covers adventure travel, camping, national parks, and outdoor gear, that has been featured in Outside Magazine and USA Today.

Katie shared a personal story about wolves that we were really interested in hearing from the essay titled, “My Rancher Parents Hate Wolves. I Took Them on a Wolf-Watching Tour in Yellowstone to Change Their Minds.”

She told us in depth about her ranching family background, their differing views on wolves and their trip to Yellowstone.

Follow Katie’s adventures and articles on Instagram

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite streaming platform! 🐺 🎙️ ✨

It was wonderful to catch up with Joanna Lambert on our most recent Podcast! We first met Joanna in Aspen for Living with Wolves: Coexistence in Colorado, and we saw her again for the Yellowstone Wolf Summit. Follow all of the amazing work her team does in the field at The Lambert Lab - www.joannalambert.com/lambert-lab/

Joanna is a Professor of Environmental Studies and Faculty in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology for the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has been teaching for over 25 years.

Her research has covered primates in Africa, wolves in the Rocky Mountain West, and animals as they adapt to human based landscapes.

Joanna spoke to us about wolves in her research, their relationship with humans over time, and shared more information about the upcoming wolf reintroduction in Colorado.

Catch all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺🎙️✨

We always love speaking with ethical nature photographers, and Candace Dyar is no different! Scroll to the right to follow along with her photos and the stories that are attached to them. Follow Candace's work on Instagram

Candace Dyar is a nature and conservation photographer, educator, wildlife & wolf advocate based in Washington State for nearly two decades. Her work has captured the attention of global audiences and been featured by acclaimed outlets such as World Wildlife Fund and The Weather Channel / Pattrn.

She spoke about her background, and the impact her photos have made on people around her.

Listen to all episodes of on your favorite podcast platform! 🐺 🎙️ ✨

This is the third and final podcast recorded at The 2023 Yellowstone Wolf Summit in Gardiner, Montana!

It was a huge honor to sit down and talk with Doug Smith, who recently retired as the Senior Wildlife Biologist in Yellowstone National park after 28 years of service where he supervised the wolf, elk, and bird programs.

Doug has studied wolves for 44 years, done over 2,000 interviews, and appeared on numerous documentaries about wolves and birds for National Geographic, BBC, and CBS 60 Minutes. He is a member of the Mexican Wolf Recovery Team, the Re-Introduction Specialist Group, and the Canid Specialist Group for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Doug spoke about his career at Yellowstone National Park, his passion for wolves, stories from his time at the wolf project, and how he's continuing to fight for wolves on the landscape since his retirement.

Listen to upcoming podcasts from the Yellowstone Wolf Summit along with every episode of on all podcast platforms! 🐺 🎙️ ✨