Colorado wolves

I have a tremendous passion for wolves. My wife and I went to the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center in Divide, Colorado Saturday night for a Full Moon Tour. As you can see, the interaction with the wolves is remarkable. They are an endangered species and ill-informed people (nice way to say it) continue to try to destroy them. Their role in the ecosystem is complex and significant, including controlling exploding elk and deer populations. No - the hunters aren't very good at that. Populations (as a whole) continue to grow.

The other smaller animals are red foxes...even the white ones. They are bred in captivity for fur, then killed in a most inhumane way. An electrical rod is violently shoved into one of their 2 main orifices - really - then the power is turned on. Obviously, that's horrible but it gets worse. Sometimes it doesn't kill them. Dead or dying, they're hung from a hook and skinned - yes, oftentimes alive. Their fur then goes to coats and other furs - it can take 40 or more foxes for one coat, depending upon the style and size. So, the next time you see Jennifer Lopez, remember what happened and what suffering went into making that coat.

Anyway, I'll try to stop preaching here. To see much more about the wolves and foxes (and coyotes), go to http://www.wolfeducation.org/. To learn about what you can do to try to stop the slaughter, check out http://www.wildearthguardians.org/.

It matters.

If you're seeing this on Facebook or Twitter and want to see the pics, links, etc, go to http://snowboardingjapan.blogspot.com/

Wolves fishing

Seeing wolves fishing is somehow inspirational. The first video is short and a bit grainy. The second one shows a very young wolf learning the technique. Both are worth a few moments for the smile factor.  If you're reading this somewhere and can't see the videos, go to http://snowboardingjapan.blogspot.com/ and see the whole thing!

Safety for wolves...at least for now

Friday US District Judge Donald Molloy ruled that that Rocky Mountain Gray Wolves should remain on the Endangered Species List. While no surprise, it's a great relief to many of us and to the wolves.

Amazingly, the judge who first ruled to allow them off the list predicted this. You might ask why he would make a ruling that he knew would be overturned. Lots of taxpayer dollars are lost from this decision and at least 100 wolves were killed.

Idaho said it would ask for permission to have its wolf hunt anyway. There's a few more wasted taxpayer dollars but they're apparently wealthy in Idaho so taxpayer dollars are in good supply.

The handling of the wolf issue is one of my pet peeves against President Obama.  I've written about it before so I'll just say that environmentalists' votes shouldn't be taken for granted. It's not so much that we'd vote against you but it's hard to get out to vote when you feel betrayed.

Wolves are endangered and need the protection. Wondering what you can do? Check out this site and they'll get you started.

Can't see the links? Just go to http://snowboardingjapan.blogspot.com/ and see everything.

Good news for wolves and Colorado

Here's a great story about a possible comeback!

More on wolves here.

Protect Idaho wolves

This really shouldn't have to be said but it does. The ecosystem needs wolves. They make for healthier deer and elk herds and preserve a part of our heritage that other nations have lost. Foolishly, Idaho doesn't get that. They're pushing the population too low. Click here and you can sign a petition to protect them. It's the least you can do.