A rare discovery in France of a pair of wolves, each from a distinct genetic background, has excited animal lovers demanding their protection and objections from farmers eager to protect livestock.
Environmental association Carduelis earlier this month reported it had spotted the pair of wolves, a male German-Polish wolf — a species found mostly in western Poland and eastern Germany — and an Italian she-wolf, usually native to the Italian peninsula.
Many European countries have reported an increase in wolf populations, aided by a return of deer, wild boar and other forms of prey.
While wolf packs typically remain in areas of no more than a few hundred square kilometers, young wolves can travel alone over thousands of kilometers.
The French finding, confirmed by authorities, has scientists speculating that a mix of both gene pools could produce a more resilient wolf population.
“This is a massive stroke of luck,” said Carmen Munoz Pastor of Carduelis. “It will allow a genetic mingling that is always favorable to animal or plant species.”
Any offspring carrying a genetic crossing of the two different European wolf lineages would be a first in France, Carduelis said.
Animal defense association One Voice called for the pair to be protected, including against the so-called “defensive” shooting of wolves.
Local authorities have permitted shooting, which they said allows farmers to protect their livestock from wolf attacks.
“The male wolf has already been injured,” One Voice president Muriel Arnal said.
“Some livestock farmers have so much hatred of wolves at a time when they are returning to France naturally,” she said.
Arnal said the two animals were the only wolves on a massive plateau in the Correze department in central France, about 500km south of Paris.
“There’s room for everybody,” she said.
Arnal has pleaded with local authorities to ban wolf shooting, recommending the use of guard dogs instead, but to no avail.
Twenty-five local livestock farmers continue to be authorized to shoot at wolves who they suspect of killing dozens of farm animals every year.
Brazil, the world’s largest Roman Catholic country, saw its Catholic population decline further in 2022, while evangelical Christians and those with no religion continued to rise, census data released on Friday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) showed. The census indicated that Brazil had 100.2 million Roman Catholics in 2022, accounting for 56.7 percent of the population, down from 65.1 percent or 105.4 million recorded in the 2010 census. Meanwhile, the share of evangelical Christians rose to 26.9 percent last year, up from 21.6 percent in 2010, adding 12 million followers to reach 47.4 million — the highest figure
A Chinese scientist was arrested while arriving in the US at Detroit airport, the second case in days involving the alleged smuggling of biological material, authorities said on Monday. The scientist is accused of shipping biological material months ago to staff at a laboratory at the University of Michigan. The FBI, in a court filing, described it as material related to certain worms and requires a government permit. “The guidelines for importing biological materials into the US for research purposes are stringent, but clear, and actions like this undermine the legitimate work of other visiting scholars,” said John Nowak, who leads field
‘THE RED LINE’: Colombian President Gustavo Petro promised a thorough probe into the attack on the senator, who had announced his presidential bid in March Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a possible candidate in the country’s presidential election next year, was shot and wounded at a campaign rally in Bogota on Saturday, authorities said. His conservative Democratic Center party released a statement calling it “an unacceptable act of violence.” The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon neighborhood when armed assailants shot him from behind, said the right-wing Democratic Center, which was the party of former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe. The men are not related. Images circulating on social media showed Uribe Turbay, 39, covered in blood being held by several people. The Santa Fe Foundation
NUCLEAR WARNING: Elites are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers, perhaps because they have access to shelters, Tulsi Gabbard said After a trip to Hiroshima, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday warned that “warmongers” were pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war. Gabbard did not specify her concerns. Gabbard posted on social media a video of grisly footage from the world’s first nuclear attack and of her staring reflectively at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. On Aug. 6, 1945, the US obliterated Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people in the explosion and by the end of the year from the uranium bomb’s effects. Three days later, a US plane dropped a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki, leaving abut 74,000 people dead by the
RSS