Saving Gray Wolves on "The Martha Stewart Podcast"
Do you know... nature depends on various keystone species to survive and thrive?
That's right, and the wolf is one of these critical keystone creatures. Like a keystone holds up an arch, wolves help maintain ecosystems. By regulating prey populations, wolves enable many other plants and animals to flourish. They initiate a domino effect and support natural levels of biodiversity. However, the wolf is in danger and it's never been more urgent than right now to stand up and defend the mighty wolf. In my latest episode of "The Martha Stewart Podcast", which you can listen to today on the iHeart Media App or wherever you get your podcasts, I talk to Samantha Attwood, Co-Founding Member of the #RelistWolves Campaign, a coalition made up of dedicated conservationists, wildlife advocates, and scientists committed to raising public awareness about wolves and advocating to restore Gray wolves to the Endangered Species List, and Maggie Howell, Executive Director of the Wolf Conservation Center in nearby South Salem, New York. We discuss wolves, what is happening to them, and why it is so important to help protect them.
Here are some beautiful photos of the Gray wolf, enjoy.
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- The Gray wolf, canis lupus, can be found in North America, Europe and Asia. The wide range of habitats in which wolves can thrive includes temperate forests, mountains, tundra, taiga, grasslands and deserts. Their adaptability has allowed them to survive wherever they can find food. (Photo by Grant T. Johnson)
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- However, wolves are now at risk with states in the Northern Rockies encouraging the hunting of up to 90-percent of the region’s wolf population. Numbers are dwindling and these beautiful animals need help. (Photo by Bohemian Lights Photography)
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- Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have passed laws allowing hunters to kill their state’s wolves, blaming them for attacking livestock, even though wolves are responsible for less than one-percent of unwanted livestock deaths. (Photo by Grant T. Johnson)
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- Wolves look like large shepherd dogs. Wolves vary in size depending on where they live. Wolves in the north are usually larger than those in the south. The average size of a wolf’s body is three to five feet long and their tails are usually one to two feet long. Females typically weigh 60 to 100 pounds, and males weigh 70 to 120 pounds. (Photo by Candace Dyar)
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- Wolves live in packs. Most packs have four to nine members, but the size can range from as few as two wolves up to as many as 15. Occasionally a pack can increase to 30 members, until some individuals break off to start their own pack. (Photo by Jake Davis)
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- The Gray wolf’s coat color is typically a mix of gray and brown, but can vary from solid white to brown or even black. (Photo by Larry Taylor)
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- In the wild, wolves live an average of five or six years, sometimes more. In captivity, they can live upward of 15 years. (Photo provided by Wolf Conservation Center)
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- Wolves typically mate for life. In the northern United States, they breed from late January through March. Wolves are pregnant for about 63 days and usually birth four to six pups. (Photo provided by Wolf Conservation Center)
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- As highly social animals, wolves live in structured family units called packs. Every pack is unique, but most consist of a breeding pair and their offspring of varying ages. Historically, people have referred to the pack’s leaders as the alpha male and alpha female. While “alpha” is still widely used, the scientific community prefers to identify the pack’s parents as the breeding pair or simply as the parents. (Photo by Larry Taylor)
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- If and when the young adults reach the age of three years, they can either join the pack or leave to find their own territory. (Photo by Jake Davis)
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- In this photo, the photographer captured a pack of wolves in Yellowstone National Park and followed the tracks for nearly 12 miles, until they split off in a canyon. Within 30 minutes the whole pack appeared on the river – 16 of them. (Photo by Jake Davis)
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- Wolves are carnivores—they prefer to eat hoofed mammals such as deer, elk, bison, and moose. They also hunt smaller mammals such as beavers, rodents, and hares. Adults can eat 20 pounds of meat in a single meal. (Photo by Larry Taylor)
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- At one time Gray wolves had the largest natural ranges of any terrestrial mammal in the northern hemisphere. Today, there are only about 6000 left in the contiguous United States. (Photo by Grant T. Johnson)
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- “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. “Threatened” means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. Gray wolves are indeed endangered. (Photo by Josh Shandera)
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- Here are two stunning Gray wolves hiding in the brush, guarding each other, or a litter. (Photo provided by Wolf Conservation Center)
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- Do you know what a wolf’s howl sounds like? Listen to my podcast and find out. We all learned how to howl like the wolves. (Photo by Candace Dyar)
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- To help raise awareness, one can write letters, post on social media, talk about it – the goal of the #RelistWolves Campaign is to restore all Gray wolves to the Endangered Species List so they are protected and saved. (Photo by Bohemian Lights Photography)
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- Here I am with Maggie Howell, Samantha Attwood, and Leslie Williams, who is Samantha’s mother, and also a co-founding member of the #RelistWolves Campaign. Please listen to my podcast on wolves right now and help save these gorgeous creatures. It’s available on the iHeart Media App, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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