The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday published the decision, which designates gray wolves as a “nonessential experimental population.”

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Author: Jennifer Campbell-Hicks

Published: 1:39 PM MST November 7, 2023

Updated: 1:39 PM MST November 7, 2023

 https://www.9news.com/article/life/animals/colorado-wolf-reintroduction-us-fish-wildlife-rule-finalized/73-068db520-a2f8-45ef-8961-ba7c34b601e7

DENVER — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) finalized a rule Tuesday that gives the state of Colorado authority to create its own rules for gray wolf management, including when someone would be allowed to kill a wolf.

The final 10(j) rule, which designates new gray wolves as a “nonessential experimental population, will go into effect Dec. 8. Colorado Parks and Wildlife intends to reintroduce wolves to the state by Dec. 31, because of a 2020 ballot proposition.

“Big news for our Colorado wolf reintroduction efforts,” CPW said on Twitter. “10j gives us gray wolf management flexibility, so we are on schedule to have wolves on the ground by 12/31/23.”

> The video above aired Sept. 15: Colorado will get to create rules for when people can kill grey wolves

This designation was sought after by ranchers. Anticipating receiving the 10(j) rule, the state’s management plan already sets conditions for when people could kill wolves. For example, the state intends to issue permits for ranchers to kill a wolf if they catch one actively trying to kill livestock.

USFWS said this rule does not apply to wolves already in Colorado because the wolves do not currently meet the criteria to be considered a population. The 10(j) will apply to the wolves the state plans to reintroduce later this year.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis previously vetoed a bill that would have required the rule to be in place before wolves get reintroduced.

Without this designation, the only scenario where a person could legally kill a wolf would be to save human life. That’s because gray wolves are federally listed as an endangered species.

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, released a statement praising the designation.

“This final rule respects the will of Colorado voters, farmers, ranchers and conservationists, and sets our state up for responsible gray wolf reintroduction,” Hickenlooper said.

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News

By Harry Baker

 published 1 day ago

For the fourth time in two years, a group of unusually brazen orcas in southwestern Europe have sunk a sailing boat after relentlessly attacking it for almost an hour on Halloween.

• https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas/orcas-sink-another-boat-in-europe-after-a-nearly-hour-long-attack

 Comments (3)

A pod of orcas has attacked and sunk another boat in southwestern Europe after relentlessly bombarding the vessel and its crew for almost an hour on Halloween. It is the fourth time that orcas from this region’s population have sunk a vessel in the last two years.

On Oct. 31, the Grazie Mamma — a mid-size sailing yacht owned by Polish cruise company Morskie Mile — was attacked by an unknown number of orcas for around 45 minutes off the coast of Morocco in the Strait of Gibraltar, Morskie Mile representatives wrote in a Facebook post translated from Polish.

The orcas (Orcinus orca), also known as killer whales, repeatedly hit the yacht’s rudder causing major damage and allowing water into the vessel’s hull. Despite receiving aid from the Moroccan Navy and being towed toward safety, the boat eventually sank as it entered the port of Tanger-Med in Morocco. All passengers were safely evacuated to rescue boats before the ship sank.

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The unusual attack is the latest example of one of many unnerving new orca behaviors that have highlighted the striking intelligence of these deadly predators. 

Related: 11 ways orcas show their terrifying intelligence 

Since 2020, orcas have been regularly harassing boats in the Strait of Gibraltar — a narrow strait between Spain and Morocco that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea — and the surrounding waters off the coast of the Iberian peninsula. 

These nautical raids were likely started by a pod including White Gladis, a female orca who may have been traumatized by a past boat collision. The unusual behavior then spread among other individuals who seem to be becoming more daring and efficient with their attacks.

So far, at least three other boats have been sunk in the area, with the most recent incident occurring in May 2023 and the previous two both occurring in 2022. And in June, a yacht had its rudder ripped clean off with “ruthless efficiency” in a 15-minute attack. 

Researchers suspect that orcas are learning to attack boats from one another. Witnesses have also reported seeing orcas “teach” other individuals how to maximize the damage they cause, Live Science previously reported.

Related: How often do orcas attack humans?

So far, only one other boat has been attacked outside of the Strait of Gibraltar and its surrounding waters: A yacht in Scotland, more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away, which was rammed by a lone individual. However, it is impossible to directly link this attack to the other orcas. 

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Boat attacks are not the only unusual learned orca behavior that scientists have taken note of in recent years. 

Since 2017, a pair of orcas known as Port and Starboard have killed dozens of great white sharks in South Africa by ripping out their livers. And on Oct. 17 this year, this behavior was also documented in Australia for the first time, hinting it may also be spreading.