His Dog Ran To Meet A Wild Wolf And He Could Have NEVER Guessed What Would Happen Next. Nick Jans was outside their home in Juneau, Alaska, with his wife Sherrie and Labrador Retriever Dakotah, when they saw the stunning black wolf. The wolf was about two years old, not fully grown.
Dakotah ran out to meet the new comer without reservation, and the Jans’s were forced to watch what would happen next.
The two squared off….and, as Nick puts it on his website, the wolf stood there “totally relaxed with us standing there just a few feet away, shamelessly flirting with our dog, who’s pretty relaxed herself.”
Being a photographer, Nick had his camera with him and snapped a picture – so he would have proof.
It’s like White Fang, I said.
Nick candidly responded, “A Far as White Fang goes…well Jack London made his story up.”
Even then, it’s hard to believe.
“Even with a picture to prove it really happened, this moment, and the years that followed, living near a wild, sociable and strangely gentle wolf, with a glacier-draped mountain backdrop, seem unreal, like something we dreamed, or a film we were watching,” Nick writes on his site.
That wasn’t the last encounter with the wolf, whom Nick named Romeo.
Romeo became a usual site in Juneau – often being spotted around dogs and people. He would play with dogs and even people from time to time; bringing them trash he would find to play fetch.
“He might as well have been a unicorn, or a character straight out of a Disney nature film,” Nick explains. “I mean, a 120-pound wild wolf just shows up one day, and wants to play with our dogs, and is tolerant of people in general, and even friendly to some.”
Unfortunately, Romeo has since passed on, the victim of heartless hunters. Juneau will be forever changed by him, however. Two streets were named after him, a bar (Romeo’s Tap Room), as well as a coffee and a beer.
The town also held a memorial for him and had a special plaque made in his honor.
As for Nick Jans, he was changed too. He wrote a book, A Wolf Called Romeo, so that Romeo would live on and be remembered.
“My final reason for writing this book is to bear witness to the life of this one remarkable wolf,” Nick says. “As long as a single person reads, hears, or remembers his story, Romeo lives. Perhaps that’s what matters most of all.”
You can purchase his book on his website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
Save the Alexander Archipelago Wolf
30 dead wolves -- 29 shot, one trapped. That's the total so far in Idaho's grisly wolf-hunting season. In the past few weeks, 30 wolf families have been shattered.
And the anti-wolf zealots want more. They're howling with glee. On Facebook groups like "The Only Good Wolf is a Dead Wolf," they've been sharing photos of the bloody carcasses of their victims -- egging each other on to "smoke a pack a day." With as few as 550 wolves left in the entire state, these wolves are in danger of being wiped out by killers whose mantra is "shoot, shovel and shut up."
The Center for Biological Diversity is in a running fight with these killers, who want to spread Idaho's terror across every state where wolves are trying to recover. You can help us stop them with a donation to the Predator Defense Fund.
If we don't stop them, the killers will hunt down wolf families from the Great Lakes to the Pacific, wiping them out for the second time in a century. They don't want a single wolf family left in the wild, and their friends in Congress have their backs. The Center is currently fighting a slew of sneaky congressional "riders," amendments that would end federal protection of wolves in states like Minnesota and Wyoming.
Wolves need the best defense possible, and the Center is there for them. In the past year, we succeeded in getting the wolf hunt cancelled in Wyoming, saving scores of wolves. We ended a disgusting wolf-killing "derby" contest on BLM federal land, and made Idaho's wolf-hating governor, Butch Otter, abruptly end the mission of a bounty hunter the state had sent to kill packs in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.
We'll continue our defense of wolves, but we can only do so with your support. Give to the Predator Defense Fund, and we will commit your donation to protecting wolves in the wild. We mourn the 30 wolves needlessly killed this season in Idaho, and we will work without cease to save wolves everywhere we can.
Will a wolf looking for a mate this winter have the freedom to roam, find a partner, and then start a family?
Not without the Endangered Species Act. Our nation’s native carnivores need you to draw a line in the sand and prevent Congress from dismantling the Act.
You’ve stood with WildEarth Guardians and taken action to defend native carnivores. Now we ask you to also join us as a member by investing $5, $10, $20 or more to ensure we have the resources to protect iconic carnivores like wolves and grizzly bears.
As our nation’s most powerful wildlife protection law, the Endangered Species Act can ensure the survival of species that would otherwise perish. But Congressional members, backed by bigwigs with bloated pocketbooks, seek to undermine this law in favor of industry demands.
Next week, Bethany Cotton, Guardians’ Wildlife Program Director and Sarah McMillan, our Senior Attorney, head to D.C. to confront industry fat cats and the political marionettes that act on their behalf. With you and the vast majority of Americans supporting Guardians and the Act, we will work to keep politicians from picking it apart, and fight to keep native carnivores from being stripped of the protections they desperately need to survive.
Your actions show we share a bold vision for wildlife. Now we need you to stand with us as we go to Washington and fight for our vision on behalf of wolves, wolverines, lynx, and grizzly bears.
You’ve told your elected officials to keep anti-wildlife riders out of the federal budget, you voiced your outrage and opposition to your tax dollars funding the slaughter of over 100,000 native carnivores every year, and now we need you to take the next step and help send Bethany and Sarah to Washington to protect native carnivores and defend the integrity of the Endangered Species Act.
We will take our shared vision to Congress and advocate for imperiled carnivores, because each has an intrinsic right to exist, and because, as Guardians, we have a moral obligation to prevent extinction.
Become a Guardian today and join the force that will usher in a better future for threatened wildlife across the West.
Good and Bad News for Oregon’s Wolves. This month, news surfaced that a wolf was shot and killed near Prairie City, Oregon by a coyote hunter. Illegal killing of wolves by coyote hunters, intentional or otherwise, remains a primary threat for wolves, and this is especially true where wolves are reclaiming new habitat, like they are in Oregon. As wolves continue to recover, one of the best ways we can help is by encouraging state wildlife agencies to educate hunters and local communities about the potential presence of wolves, their status as a protected species, and how to tell the difference between wolves and coyotes. An investigation on this incident is pending; because wolves are protected by the state Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to shoot them, except in the defense of human life. But while this is clearly a devastating loss, we also received some good news: another of Oregon’s wolves has ventured into the Cascade Mountains in northern Klamath County. This dispersing male is one of several moving west in Oregon where there is vast suitable habitat for this species. Although this is a wonderful sign of wolf recovery in Oregon, we could see a proposal to lift wolf protections as early as next month when the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission reconvenes to evaluate what level of protection is warranted as wolves continue to recover in Oregon. If the commission makes any changes at all, we have urged them to consider only downlisting the species from endangered to threatened. This would enable wolves to continue to receive the vital state protections they need while acknowledging that wolf numbers in eastern Oregon have improved.
The two squared off….and, as Nick puts it on his website, the wolf stood there “totally relaxed with us standing there just a few feet away, shamelessly flirting with our dog, who’s pretty relaxed herself.”
Being a photographer, Nick had his camera with him and snapped a picture – so he would have proof.
Nick candidly responded, “A Far as White Fang goes…well Jack London made his story up.”
Even then, it’s hard to believe.
“Even with a picture to prove it really happened, this moment, and the years that followed, living near a wild, sociable and strangely gentle wolf, with a glacier-draped mountain backdrop, seem unreal, like something we dreamed, or a film we were watching,” Nick writes on his site.
Romeo became a usual site in Juneau – often being spotted around dogs and people. He would play with dogs and even people from time to time; bringing them trash he would find to play fetch.
The town also held a memorial for him and had a special plaque made in his honor.
“My final reason for writing this book is to bear witness to the life of this one remarkable wolf,” Nick says. “As long as a single person reads, hears, or remembers his story, Romeo lives. Perhaps that’s what matters most of all.”
You can purchase his book on his website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
Save the Alexander Archipelago Wolf
One of America’s rarest animals, the beautiful Alexander Archipelago wolf, is in danger of being hunted out of existence.Over the past year, these wolves’ population on Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island, which is one of its most important habitats, has plummeted from 221 to as low as 60. That’s the equivalent of 1.1 of Manhattan’s 1.6 million residents suddenly dying in just one year.
These amazing creatures have been isolated from the rest of the species for millennia and have evolved into a unique subspecies. This is what makes them so special, but it also makes them particularly vulnerable because of their relatively small territory and their near exclusive reliance on one species of deer for food. Hunters on the island also enjoy eating the deer, and loggers have been steadily eroding both the deer and wolves’ habitat. With the population down to just over 60 individuals, this alone could lead to their demise, but these wolves have one more threat to deal with, and it could be their final blow.
The state of Alaska has announced that it will be allowing the hunt of 9 Alexander Archipelago wolves this year. They are ignoring the unprecedented decline in their population in recent years, and have given the go-ahead to kill nearly 15% of the animals’ remaining population, potentially leaving just 51 wolves next year.
I need your help to demand that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) protect the Alexander Archipelago Wolf with an emergency Endangered Species listing, so that hunts like this cannot take place
Scientists have not seen evidence that any pups were born in the entire year of 2014. The remaining population of Alexander Archipelago Wolves is almost 75% male, which does not bode well for a rebound in numbers. Still, efforts can be made to save this majestic species. But only if wolf hunting is stopped immediately.
The Alexander Archipelago wolf population is being hit from all sides. Without help from US Fish and Wildlife, their chances of lasting even into the next decade are dubious. Please join me in demanding that the USFWS protect one of the most vulnerable animals in Alaska, and list this wolf as an endangered species immediately. Every day that they remain unprotected, we risk losing them for good.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Daniel M. Ashe
The Center for Biological Diversity is in a running fight with these killers, who want to spread Idaho's terror across every state where wolves are trying to recover. You can help us stop them with a donation to the Predator Defense Fund.
If we don't stop them, the killers will hunt down wolf families from the Great Lakes to the Pacific, wiping them out for the second time in a century. They don't want a single wolf family left in the wild, and their friends in Congress have their backs. The Center is currently fighting a slew of sneaky congressional "riders," amendments that would end federal protection of wolves in states like Minnesota and Wyoming.
Wolves need the best defense possible, and the Center is there for them. In the past year, we succeeded in getting the wolf hunt cancelled in Wyoming, saving scores of wolves. We ended a disgusting wolf-killing "derby" contest on BLM federal land, and made Idaho's wolf-hating governor, Butch Otter, abruptly end the mission of a bounty hunter the state had sent to kill packs in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.
We'll continue our defense of wolves, but we can only do so with your support. Give to the Predator Defense Fund, and we will commit your donation to protecting wolves in the wild. We mourn the 30 wolves needlessly killed this season in Idaho, and we will work without cease to save wolves everywhere we can.
Will a wolf looking for a mate this winter have the freedom to roam, find a partner, and then start a family?
Not without the Endangered Species Act. Our nation’s native carnivores need you to draw a line in the sand and prevent Congress from dismantling the Act.
You’ve stood with WildEarth Guardians and taken action to defend native carnivores. Now we ask you to also join us as a member by investing $5, $10, $20 or more to ensure we have the resources to protect iconic carnivores like wolves and grizzly bears.
As our nation’s most powerful wildlife protection law, the Endangered Species Act can ensure the survival of species that would otherwise perish. But Congressional members, backed by bigwigs with bloated pocketbooks, seek to undermine this law in favor of industry demands.
Next week, Bethany Cotton, Guardians’ Wildlife Program Director and Sarah McMillan, our Senior Attorney, head to D.C. to confront industry fat cats and the political marionettes that act on their behalf. With you and the vast majority of Americans supporting Guardians and the Act, we will work to keep politicians from picking it apart, and fight to keep native carnivores from being stripped of the protections they desperately need to survive.
Your actions show we share a bold vision for wildlife. Now we need you to stand with us as we go to Washington and fight for our vision on behalf of wolves, wolverines, lynx, and grizzly bears.
You’ve told your elected officials to keep anti-wildlife riders out of the federal budget, you voiced your outrage and opposition to your tax dollars funding the slaughter of over 100,000 native carnivores every year, and now we need you to take the next step and help send Bethany and Sarah to Washington to protect native carnivores and defend the integrity of the Endangered Species Act.
We will take our shared vision to Congress and advocate for imperiled carnivores, because each has an intrinsic right to exist, and because, as Guardians, we have a moral obligation to prevent extinction.
Become a Guardian today and join the force that will usher in a better future for threatened wildlife across the West.
Good and Bad News for Oregon’s Wolves. This month, news surfaced that a wolf was shot and killed near Prairie City, Oregon by a coyote hunter. Illegal killing of wolves by coyote hunters, intentional or otherwise, remains a primary threat for wolves, and this is especially true where wolves are reclaiming new habitat, like they are in Oregon. As wolves continue to recover, one of the best ways we can help is by encouraging state wildlife agencies to educate hunters and local communities about the potential presence of wolves, their status as a protected species, and how to tell the difference between wolves and coyotes. An investigation on this incident is pending; because wolves are protected by the state Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to shoot them, except in the defense of human life. But while this is clearly a devastating loss, we also received some good news: another of Oregon’s wolves has ventured into the Cascade Mountains in northern Klamath County. This dispersing male is one of several moving west in Oregon where there is vast suitable habitat for this species. Although this is a wonderful sign of wolf recovery in Oregon, we could see a proposal to lift wolf protections as early as next month when the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission reconvenes to evaluate what level of protection is warranted as wolves continue to recover in Oregon. If the commission makes any changes at all, we have urged them to consider only downlisting the species from endangered to threatened. This would enable wolves to continue to receive the vital state protections they need while acknowledging that wolf numbers in eastern Oregon have improved.
