The recovery of lynx, brown bears, and grey wolves in a continent that has seen hundreds of years of development is showing that humans may not have to keep out of the path of predators and their prey.

“What we find is very good news. Carnivores are doing well in an unexpected place — Europe,” said Guillaume Chapron, an associate professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the lead author of a study released today in the journal Science. “We have twice as many (grey) wolves in Europe than in the 48 lower U.S. states.”

Chapron’s study was the result of an “exhaustive and comprehensive” study that gathered “the most up-to-date numbers” from 26 European countries and 76 authors about the distribution and range of grey wolves, brown bears, wolverines, and the Eurasian lynx. Chapron said the study was also one of the first ones to use data from nations like Bosnia, Macedonia, and other places and made use of a wide variety of techniques such as snow-tracking, camera traps, and genetic micro-captures.

The study found that the numbers of carnivores have either remained steady or greatly increased in European countries. In some cases the animals have recovered robust populations that were extinct at some point between 1950 and 1970. For example, the Eurasian lynx has recovered in countries like France, Switzerland, and other places from extinction to numbers sometimes reaching the dozens. Similarly, brown bears — little smaller in Europe than North American grizzlies — and grey wolves also face recovery from extinction or near extinction in a number of countries and huge increases in populations in others. Wolverines have increased to the order of three to five times their populations around 45 to 65 years ago in the monitored countries of Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

Wolf Canis lupus pups photographed in the front of the den in the western Poland.
Image Credit: Robert W. Mysłajek Wolf pack.
Copyright: Miha Krofel, Slovenia Eurasian lynx - Europe's largest cat.
Copyright: Miha Krofel, Slovenia Eurasian lynx - Europe's largest cat.
Copyright: Miha Krofel, Slovenia European brown bear in Dinaric mountains, Slovenia.
Copyright: Miha Krofel, Slovenia Female European brown bear in Dinaric Mountains, Slovenia.
Copyright: Miha Krofel, Slovenia Female European brown bear in Dinaric Mountains, Slovenia.
Copyright: Miha Krofel, Slovenia A female brown bear (Ursus arctos) with her cubs in the forests of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Credit: Sasa Kunovac A female brown bear (Ursus arctos) with three yearlings in Gutulia National Park in Hedmark, South East Norway.
Image Credit: Kjell Isaksen

The results of the study show that the way humans and predators share land in the European Union, which doesn’t employ the North American system of parceling off land into national parks or wildlife refuges and urban or agricultural domains, has contributed to the successful recovery. “We don’t have this concept of wilderness where the wild beasts are supposed to be out there in the mountains,” Chapron said, adding that the most abundant populations aren’t always in remote wilderness areas, as brown bears are doing well in some more populous parts of Sweden and grey wolves are doing better in some of the farmlands of Spain.

But Chapron cautioned that there are still a number of problems in Europe between human and predator interaction. “Coexistence isn’t a peace and love story,” he said. Brown bears aren’t doing well in the Pyrenees, wolves are faring badly in the Sierra Morena region of Spain and the lynx sits on the edge of extinction in the Balkans. While the coexistence model has helped improve the overall situation, according to Chapron, on a smaller scale there is no silver bullet that will lead to easy recovery of species and conservation. “Things have to be adapted to the local context,” he said. Things that have led to increased predator tolerance include trophy hunting programs and electric fences to stop livestock predation.

According to Chapron, states in the U.S. could make use of these models. “For North America there are questions about what will happen when the wolf comes back in California,” he said. But, through land-sharing programs, predators could make a comeback in some areas.

“If people wanted they could have a lot of wolves.”

The $1 trillion spending bill approved by Congress last week will keep the government running until the end of the Fiscal Year (FY), October 2015. The “Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015” has been nicknamed the “CRomnibus” because it combines an omnibus appropriations bill for most agencies with a continuing resolution (CR) for the Department of Homeland Security. TWS provided testimony to Congress earlier this year on appropriations for programs within the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture.

The Department of the Interior was appropriated $10.7 billion in the CRomnibus, slightly higher than the $10.5 billion the agency received in FY2014. Programs within the Department of the Interior fared differently, with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Wildlife Refuge System being appropriated increased funding from FY2014, with programs like the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants staying at level.

The CRomnibus appropriates $474.2 million for the National Wildlife Refuge System. This is $2 million less than the President’s and TWS’s request of $476.4 million; however, it is a $2 million increase from FY 2014. USGS was appropriated $1.045 billion – less than TWS’s requested $1.1 billion – but still received an increase above FY 2014 levels. The ecosystems program within USGS, which contains programmatic resources for fisheries, wildlife, environments, invasive species and the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units received a $4.2 million increase to $157.0 million total.

The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program was appropriated the same amount of funding as FY 2014. SWG was appropriated $58.695 million, which is equal to TWS’s request and above the President’s request of $50 million. TWS works with Teaming with Wildlife to ensure adequate funding for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) was appropriated $871.3 million, a $49 million increase above FY2014 levels. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program were appropriated fewer funds for FY 2015. The 2014 Farm Bill authorizes $1.6 billion in mandatory funding for EQIP, but the CRomnibus only appropriates $1.3 billion. The Conservation Stewardship Fund was appropriated funding for the conservation of 7.7 million acres in the CRomnibus, a 2.3 million acre decrease from the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill authorizes mandatory funding for programs, but Congress can choose to appropriate fewer funds for specific programs each year.

In addition to the funding appropriations, some policy riders – legislation unrelated to the overall bill – have been attached to the CRomnibus. Read the TWS article, CRomnibus: Conservation Riders to learn more.

Sources: Environment & Energy Daily (December 10, 2014), TRCP Blog (December 10, 2014), and U.S. Government Printing Office (December 9, 2014)

The $1 trillion spending bill approved by Congress last week will keep the government running until October 2015. The “Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015” has been nicknamed the “CRomnibus” because it combines an omnibus appropriations bill for most agencies with a continuing resolution (CR) for the Department of Homeland Security.

In addition to the funding appropriations, some policy riders – legislation unrelated to the overall bill – have been attached. These riders often place additional restrictions on the use of appropriated funds by federal agencies.

A rider prevents the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) from writing or issuing any Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings for the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), the Columbia basin distinct populations segment of greater sage-grouse, the bi-state distinct population segment of greater sage-grouse, and the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus). The ESA listing of sage-grouse has been controversial because the bird’s habitat often coincides with ranching, mining, and energy development. It is uncertain if this rider simply prevents the FWS from issuing a rule or goes further by prohibiting any action by FWS that advances the decision-making process; such a restriction could delay a final decision substantially. FWS listed the Gunnison sage-grouse as threatened under ESA in November; it is unknown how this rider will impact that previous decision.

A provision on preventing funding for the regulation of lead (Pb) ammunition and fishing tackle under the Toxic Substances Control Act was also included in the appropriations bill. The U.S. banned lead ammunition in the hunting of waterfowl and coots in 1991, but there are no federal regulations on hunting or fishing other wildlife with lead tools. This rider prevents the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing new regulations on lead, upsetting some environmentalists who are concerned about the impacts lead has on wildlife. The Wildlife Society has a Position Statement and a Fact Sheet that address the impacts of lead (Pb) on wildlife.

Although the riders only limit agency actions for one year, some are worried that some of the riders may be carried over into future appropriations bills. Appropriators tend to use the previous year’s bill as a basis for drafting new legislation, allowing policy riders to stay relevant.

Sources: Greenwire (December 10, 2014),

Africa’s iconic giraffe may be in trouble — its population numbers have plummeted by more than 40 percent in the last 15 years, according to estimates from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF).

For the past five years, a team of GCF researchers has been looking at historic and current giraffe ranges and assessing giraffe genetics to get a better picture of what giraffe populations look like from country to country and across the continent. “It’s a who’s who of the Big African Blue,” said Julian Fenessy, executive director of the GCF and co-chair of the IUCN Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group. To date, researchers recognize nine subspecies of giraffe, of which only two are listed endangered on the IUCN red list.

Still, the world’s tallest mammals face many challenges; habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, poaching, and hunting threaten the remaining 80,000 giraffes roaming Africa’s woodlands, deserts, and savannas. Urbanization and the conversion of natural landscapes to agricultural lands not only reduces the amount of habitat available, it can also cut larger areas into smaller fragmented habitats. This can be particularly problematic for giraffes that need large areas to forage and find mates, explained Fenessy.

Giraffes, which can weigh more than 2,000 pounds, are also hunted for their meat. On illegal hunts, poachers will sometimes eat giraffe and other bush meat. And poachers aren’t the only people at the table. Localized tribes and communities have been hunting giraffes for years, according to Fennesy. “For countries in civil unrest, giraffe are large animals and they provide a hell of a lot of food,” he said. Fennesy also noted communities sometimes use giraffe tails for whips and the tough leather for sandals, clothes, and water carriers.

Growing threats have reduced population sizes and pushed some subspecies to near extinction. Fewer than 250 West African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) live in the wild, and new census data from the Rothschild Giraffe Project have Rothschild’s giraffe (G. c. rothschildi) populations hovering around 1,100 individuals. In war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo, conflict has decimated giraffe populations and giraffes are locally extinct in at least seven African countries, according to GCF.

“I can’t image the world without them,” said Zoe Muller, a research associate of the GCF studying the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe subspecies. “When a kid learns his ABC’s he learns G is for Giraffe. If they were to disappear, it would be a travesty, really.”

Historically, Rothschild’s giraffes roamed throughout the Rift Valley in Africa from western Kenya north to Sudan; now, they live on protected reserves or parks in Kenya with one wild population in Uganda. Surrounding cities, towns, farms, and agricultural lands isolate these populations from one another, making it impossible for the populations to interbreed without human interference. “Some of the parks are within five to 50 kilometers of each other, but they are fenced in. Even if the giraffe wanted to migrate, they can’t,” said Muller.

But the future isn’t so grim for all subspecies. In South Africa and Namibia, giraffe populations are on the rise, and in Tanzania “the numbers are strong,” said Fenessy. He credits conservation and management efforts. “We need to place good conservation practices and good monitoring practices so we can make a difference straight away before it’s too late,” said Fenessy.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced last week that it has listed the rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The announcement marks the first time that a species has been officially listed primarily due to threats induced by climate change.

The population of red knots has dropped by about 75 percent since the 1980s, but different groups disagree whether the main cause is the loss of an important food source or changes in the timing of migratory pit stops.

The migratory shorebird travels 9000 miles every year from breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic to wintering habitats in the U.S., Caribbean, and South America. The red knot stops en masse on several spots along the U.S. Atlantic coast, most notably on Delaware Bay, to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. It is estimated that 90 percent of the red knot population can be present on the Bay in one day.

The population of horseshoe crabs along the shores of Delaware and New Jersey, an essential food source for the shorebirds, is harvested for use as bait and biomedical research purposes. Some groups contend that horseshoe crab harvest should be more restricted to protect one of the bird’s essential food sources. FWS disagreed and determined that the fishery is well managed and that there are plenty of eggs for the red knots to feed on, but federal protection is needed because climate change is disrupting the synchronous timing of when the birds arrive and when the crabs lay their eggs.

FWS is set to propose a critical habitat designation for the species by the end of 2015.

Sources: Environment and Energy News (December 9, 2014), Federal Register (December 11, 2014)

Many wildlife managers and health officials are familiar with the success of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) and understand the important role it plays in preventing the spread of rabies in North America through a wildlife oral rabies vaccination (ORV) program. But others may not be as knowledgeable or don’t believe wildlife rabies is a concern. How do we help them understand the value of such a program? One way is to show them how our lives might be different if there were no ORV efforts in the United States.

In the United States, wildlife accounts for 92 percent of all reported rabies cases. The raccoon rabies virus variant, in particular, is responsible for significant spillover infection into dogs and cats, as well as other wildlife. In an effort to reduce rabies in wildlife and prevent possible transmission to humans, domestic pets and livestock, NRMP experts and their partners annually distribute more than 6 million ORV baits in 16 states along the Appalachian Mountains and in Texas for raccoons, skunks, gray fox, and coyotes. The benefits of maintaining the ORV zone in the eastern United States are significant for several public health, agricultural, and wildlife management reasons. Specific benefits include reductions in human post-exposure prophylaxis, reductions in livestock and pet losses, and the protection of wildlife resources.

To better quantify the benefits of the NRMP, researchers at Wildlife Services’ National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) and partners modeled the spread of raccoon rabies over 20 years in the absence of current ORV activities in the East. The forecast included 10 raccoon rabies spread-expansion regions each representing a 2-year timeframe. The combined 10 regions show the extent raccoon rabies is projected to spread after a 20-year period without ORV intervention. The forecast models incorporated three different rates of spread: low (15 km/year), medium (30 km/year), and high (60 km/year) based on historical rates of raccoon rabies spread in the eastern United States. Over the 20-year horizon, spread would extend as far west as the Texas border and western Iowa. However, over a longer time period, the spread would likely continue to the Rocky Mountains, where harsh winters and unsuitable habitat might prevent any further westward movement. Such an expansion would cause approximately $1.1 billion in additional damages due to an increased need in human post-exposure treatments, livestock and pet losses, and impacts to wildlife resources.

Map of the potential spread of raccoon rabies by 2-year increments if the ORV zone were no longer maintained.

Wildlife Services is a Strategic Partner of The Wildlife Society.