“Lethal Control of Wolves Provides No Benefit to Livestock” “Why A Ravening Wolf is a Sheep’s Best Friend” Those were the headlines yesterday, as media outlets continue to hype a flawed Washington State University research paper that I panned over on Wolf Watch. The WSU researchers noted that through a certain time period: 1) the …
Author: Cat Urbigkit
Women’s Working Equine Partners
Shepherd’s burro in Bulgaria A new report estimates that there are 112 million working equine animals in the world, providing support to hundreds of millions of poor households in both rural and urban areas throughout the developing world. The breakdown includes: • 43 million donkeys; • 11 million mules; and • 58 million horses. Here …
Poorest of People Caught in Anti-Hunting Crossfire
In March 2011, a coalition of animal welfare groups opposed to the hunting of African lions petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for protection of this lion subspecies under the Endangered Species Act. FWS responded this week by proposing to list African lions as “threatened” – not the “endangered” status sought by the groups. …
Fearing What We Don’t Understand
Summer Guardians
We moved our sheep flock to grazing range along the foothills of the Wind River Mountains in early July. We’ve had a refreshingly moist summer, bringing this arid rangeland to life. The ewes are fat, the lambs are growing, and we share the same piece of earth with abundant sage grouse, as well as nesting …
Guardian Dogs & Wolves in the Alps
Why I Carry (part 2)
I read an editorial yesterday suggesting that “the only two legitimate uses of guns” are for hunting and target shooting. The writer advocated that guns be kept in armories, where gun owners would be able to come and check out their firearms for these uses. The writer of the editorial simply lives in a different …
Grazing & Grouse
Jim and I have noticed that sage grouse broods seem to be larger, and do better, in pastures where our sheep are grazing. Our observations are anecdotal of course, but we figure there are a couple of reasons why grouse do well with livestock grazing. The presence of our guardian animals (both guardian dogs …
Cock Fighting, Naturally
It’s that time of year again: Greater Sage Grouse are gathering on their leks (breeding grounds), with plenty of strutting and displaying by the males in attempt to impress the females. I’ve spent the last three mornings on a lek near our home in western Wyoming, and today was the only day I’ve managed to …
Turf Battle
Mid-March on the western Wyoming range: Jim and I were surprised yesterday to see these two pronghorn antelope bucks engaged in a furious battle in the sagebrush. Since it’s not breeding season, we assume it was a territorial dispute. The two fairly evenly matched bucks went at each other for several minutes, until one buck …