Death of a Yellowstone Wolf

A wolf with a radio collar wandered out of Yellowstone National Park and sadly was immediately shot by a hunter. It wasn't just any wolf, but the Alpha Female of a famous wolf pack which had been studied by scientists for many years. This is just devastating for the ecosystem.

Who was the hunter? No one knows, but clearly he was just aching to kill a wolf. More's the pity. It amazes me that the same people who would sue for a million dollars if someone shot their domesticated horse or dog don't give a crap about an irreplaceable wolf who is a treasure to our country and really belongs to us all.

So many wolves have been murdered this year - yes, wantonly murdered - that Montana just this morning cancelled their wolf season in certain areas, from the Laramie News:

Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission chairman Bob Ream said commissioners were addressing only "the particular and unique situation" of collared wolves being shot.

"It seems to be kind of a compromise," Ream said. "Is it political? Yeah, wolves are political."

. . . Park officials say at least seven Yellowstone wolves _ including five wearing tracking collars _ were shot in recent weeks by hunters in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

Also shot were four collared wolves originally from the park but now living outside it. Three more shot in the vicinity of the park had unknown origins and were not wearing collars, park officials said.

Saturday marks the opening day of Montana's first wolf trapping season since the animals lost federal protections last year.

From the New York Times:

The wolf, known as 832F to researchers, was the alpha female of the park’s highly visible Lamar Canyon pack and had become so well known that some wildlife watchers referred to her as a “rock star.” The animal had been a tourist favorite for most of the past six years.

The wolf was fitted with a $4,000 collar with GPS tracking technology, which is being returned, said Daniel Stahler, a project director for Yellowstone’s wolf program. Based on data from the wolf’s collar, researchers knew that her pack rarely ventured outside the park, and then only for brief periods, Dr. Stahler said.

This year’s hunting season in the northern Rockies has been especially controversial because of the high numbers of popular wolves and wolves fitted with research collars that have been killed just outside Yellowstone in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

. . . “She is the most famous wolf in the world,” said Jimmy Jones, a wildlife photographer who lives in Los Angeles and whose portrait of 832F appears in the current issue of the magazine American Scientist.

One-Trick Trickle-Down Pony

Rafalca Romney made an appearance at the London Olympics yesterday. Ann Romney gave her reaction to the press:
"She was consistent and elegant. She did not disappoint. She thrilled me to death."

With perfect timing aimed to lampoon the Romney's expensive hobby, MoveOn.org released a new ad featuring a talking Rafalca Romney. The White House has promised not to "attack" Rafalca again, but some of these other democratic groups have not.

Explanation from Justin Ruben, Executive Director of MoveOn.org Political Action

In our ad, voters hear the truth about Mitt Romney straight from the horse’s mouth: Romney seems to think many Americans deserve to be treated worse than a horse. There’s nothing wrong with taking good care of a horse, but there’s something messed up about a millionaire who spends twice what most Americans make in a year caring for a horse, but wants to take away people’s health care and offshore their jobs. We’re rooting for Rafalca and all of our Olympians to bring home the gold, but we’re sure not rooting for Mitt Romney to send jobs overseas. Voters had best steer clear of Romney unless they’re looking for a ride on a one-trick trickle down pony

It makes me want to paraphrase the theme song of the Mr. Ed television program:
"A horse is a horse, of course, of course . . . so to keep us on a steady course, Obama's the candidate you should endorse . . . and Romney's campaign is dead!"

Senate Bill to Make Bison the National Mammal

Sounds like a great idea to me! :)

From the Billings Montana Gazette:

The National Bison Legacy Act introduced in the Senate is backed by lawmakers from Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Rhode Island.

The largely symbolic measure would provide no added protections for the estimated 20,000 wild bison in North America. And the bald eagle would still hold a somewhat loftier role as the national emblem, as declared by the Second Continental Congress in 1782.

And it's not just the lawmakers - Wildlife folks and Native Americans back the legislation:

John Calvelli with the Wildlife Conservation Society, one of the "vote bison" campaign sponsors, said the effort is meant to transcend political concerns and instead mark the animal's place in American cultural history.

"This isn't about getting into the middle of these issues of bison and property rights," he said. "No matter what political stripe you come from, we can all agree on the important role that bison have played."

Other sponsors of the campaign are the Intertribal Buffalo Council, which includes 57 tribes, and the National Bison Association.

Caterpillars for Change

Now we know there's a full moon. Today, the leader of the Republican National Convention, Reince Priebus, set off a landmine of snark under his own chair by saying:

“If the Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars and every mainstream media outlet talked about the fact that Republicans have a war on caterpillars, then we’d have problems with caterpillars. It's a fiction."

Okey-Dokey Artichokey.
Of course, the Internets Went All Snarky.
Rachel Maddow had this picture up on her show tonight. I think it's just beautiful! Thank you, Reince Priebus, for giving women a new reason to vote for President Obama, and a new symbol of rebirth for the Democratic Party.

Happy Place Diversion ~ Beanie Hunger Games

As irritating as the original story, but much cuter!

Happy Place Diversion

Yes, sometimes for my own good I stop reading about politics and go to my Happy Place. Here's a YouTube video that should make anyone smile - a woman found a gathering of normally fierce creatures just chillin' on her back porch. Shot in the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. Note: You can see the Eagle's mate sitting on a light pole in the distance.

 Update: I went to YouTube and had this exchange with the very nice woman who made the video.

 From me: There's a message in there somewhere for this political season - why can't we all get along?

pla1554alaska : That's why I did the video to begin with!  Actually I wanted to show people that the animals all get along and aren't out to just kill each other all the time! But I like your point, too! Why can't we all just get along like this???