wolf

How a mummified wolf has solved the mystery of the woolly rhino’s extinction

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14,400 years ago, a barely nine-week-old wolf cub feasted on the Siberian stage. Shortly after gobbling that piece of meat, the puppy died and was buried in the permafrostnear the village of Tumat in northeastern Siberia. Something that at first seems insignificant, has given one of the most important milestones in modern paleogenetics. And this one was in this puppy’s stomach. The study. A team of scientists from the Center for Paleogenetics at Stockholm University has achieved what seemed impossible: Recover the complete high-coverage genome of a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) from the undigested remains in that wolf’s stomach. The results, published in Genome Biology and Evolutionforce us to rewrite the books on how and why this megafauna became extinct, since until now we had a very different idea. A biological miracle. The discovery of this puppy is not something recent, since it was found in 2011, and received the nickname Tumat-1. Being mummified in ice, the reality is that it was in perfect condition, but during the autopsy the researchers found a 3-centimeter piece of tissue with remains of blonde fur. Due to the area in which it was initially found, it was thought that it was a cave lion. But the reality is that genetics has said something very different: it was a woolly rhinoceros. Something that is incredible, since it is the first time in history that the complete genome of an Ice Age animal has been sequenced from the stomach contents of another animal. A great milestone. For science to recover the genetic material of a species in these conditions, the truth is that it is something incredible because of the doors it opens. And DNA is where we can find practically everythingeven the genetic health of the species before its end. Genetic decline. For decades, the dominant theory suggested that woolly rhinos disappeared due to slow genetic erosion. It was believed that, as its population was reduced, inbreeding accumulated harmful mutations that doomed the species due to the many diseases caused by having children between relatives. But this is something that has now been completely debunked. When comparing the genome with samples from 18,000 and 48,500 years ago, the researchers found no decline in diversity. Furthermore, there was no indication that the species was in a state of inbreeding as there was no genetic crossing between close relatives. That is why the effective population remained stable at about 1,600 individuals until just a few centuries before its total disappearance. The culprit. If it was not genetics and inbreeding that condemned the species and not human hunting (because thousands of years passed together without it happening)… what happened? Science now points to Bølling-Allerød Interstadial, a period of abrupt climate warming that occurred about 14,000 years ago. This phenomenon transformed the dry, cold steppe (the rhino paradise) into a landscape of bushy vegetation and, most critically, deep snow. Without being able to live. The woolly rhino, with its short legs and heavy body, was not designed to walk on soft snow or dig for grass under thick layers for food. In this way, it was an environmental trap that caused the animals to not be able to adapt correctly to the new habitat that had been generated around them due to how quickly it happened. Looking to the future. What we learn in the past can also be applied today and tomorrow. And this study does not only speak of the past, since in a context of current climate crisis, the case of the woolly rhinoceros is a warning. It shows that even a species with a stable population and robust genetics can collapse almost instantly if the ecosystem changes abruptly. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | Whale vomit: a rare substance that looks like floating garbage, but can cost up to $71,000 per kilo

The wolf has been a huge hot political potato for years. In Asturias they will allow the hunters to dejize them

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In Spain there is a group that has been aware of the wolves. And they are not the zoologists, animalists, hunters or farmers. Even more so that they are politicians who have spent the last years discussing The legal status of the Canis lupusa delicate issue that has generated a deep debate. The last arrives from Asturias, where the Principality has taken A decision Radical: Allow hunters to shoot the wolves in certain community reserves. Not everyone believes it is legal. What happened? What Asturias will allow That hunters shoot Lobos during their beaters in certain areas of the Principality, those reserves in which there has been an increase in cattle attacks. The decision, which has already generated an intense debate and has encountered The frontal opposition of the animalists, directly connects with a series of legal changes that have gradually cracking the legal shielding of which the Canis lupus. What do Asturias want to do? Open the door to the hunters to participate in the reduction of the population of Lobos. As a “complementary control method”, the Ministry of Rural Affairs has decided that hunters of those regional reserves “in which a greater number of damage to cattle have been detected” can shoot wolves during hunts scheduled to capture other species. That is, it gives the green light to the hunters so that (if certain conditions are met) they can reduce them while looking for prey. “The goal is Clarifies the Principalitywhich has also asked that in the “most affected” hunting preserves the guards participate in the controls together with the natural environment agents. Why do you do it? To answer that question you have to go back several months, to April, when the Government of Asturias presented its annual “road map” (applicable until the end of March 2026) to “reduce damage to the primary sector and social conflict” related to the wolves. That is, its ‘Wolf Management Plan’an official document that among other things clarified how many catches of Canis lupus The Asturian authorities have authorized. In that document It was revealed that the minimum wolves are around 345 copies and, based on that, the Ministry of Rural Affairs has decided to give green light to “the extraction of a maximum of 53”. Even the maximum number of animals that would be “extracted” in each area of ​​the Principality was required, some guidelines were given on the periods to carry out “the controls” and it was clarified how they will be carried out. Among them, in addition to the beating made by the environmental agents of the Principality, It was already progressing that one of the options contemplated by the plan was to resort directly to the help of hunters in regional reserves. But the wolf was not protected? Throughout the last months the status of the wolf has changed considerably. And with him he has done his legal armor. In Spain the most relevant novelty It happened in March. During the processing of A law of food waste (yes, you have read well) Congress approved several amendments centered on the wolf. And among them there was a specific one that returned the species to the situation in which it was before 2021year in which the Canis lupus It had been added to the list of wild species with special protection (Lespre). In the practice that the wolf appeared in the Lespre valed the hunting of specimens north of the Duero, something that already happened south of the river. The decision of the Congress to take it out meant that the Peninsular North packs lost their armor, which in turn opened the door for the autonomous communities to decide on their hunt. The Principality itself I recognized Last April that launched its ‘Wolf Management Plan’ after the last changes in Lespre. It was not the only one. Cantabria did something similar. In fact rtpa It revealed This same week that the community has already “extracted” more than half of the wolves of the quota authorized for the 2025-2026 period, which translates into 25 copies of a total of 41. And why do you turn to the hunters? That is one of the keys to the controversy that has emerged in Asturias. The Principality explains that it has decided to allow hunters to shoot wolves while looking for other species in reserves for “Increase efficacy” of the plan, which provides for the “extraction” of a maximum of 53 wolves. There are those who have seen in that argument an alarm signal. “If the reason for involving hunters is the difficulty in reaching the number of dead wolves established in the quotas, perhaps the cause is not so much the lack of efficiency of the method to hunt them, but the shortage of wolves itself, something that seems that the Asturian government does not even value,” warns The Wolf Protection Fund, very critical of the new decision of the Principality. How many wolves are there? In spring the regional government calculated that the wolf is present in 83% of the Asturian territory, where some 45 herds inhabit between 360 and 405 animals. “Since 2001, the year in which 22 herds were registered, the population has shown a general growth trend, as well as the damages caused by livestock,” Concrete the Principality. To be more precise, remember that last year damage to 3,257 head of cattle and the cost of compensation grew to exceed the million and a half euros were confirmed. These figures are those that justified the control plan, although It is unknown How many wolves have fallen in the community today. Have there been reactions? Yes. And of different types. The Government insists in which his is a “balanced positioning” between the preservation of the species and the interests of farmers and ranchers, but the truth is that everything related to the legal framework of the wolf has been involved in a deep debate for months. The hunters They recognize Having received the last announcement from the … Read more

A century of herbivores at ease was ending with Yellowstone. Salvation was logical: call the wolf

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‘Jurassic Park‘He has memorable moments, but perhaps a phrase is the one that fell me the most in his day: “Life makes its way”The problem is that the hand of man exercises Too much influence on natureand the Yellowstone park It is an excellent example of how an ecosystem that was regulated perfectly was twisting due to a decision made 100 years ago: eradicate the wolves. Consequence? May the park run out of trees. And to turn to the tortilla, the researchers had an idea: return to repopble Yellowstone with wolves. Yellowstone in short. The arrival of European settlers to the North American west caused the expansion of the agriculture and, above all, livestock (With grazing and the Basques carrying the reins). The enemy of cattle was the wolf, since it was a direct threat and, due to its vital role for the local economy, extermination campaigns began to be carried out. The result was that, by 1930, the wolves (as well as other predators such as pumas, coyotes and bears) practically disappeared from some areas such as Yellowstone. Even the army is implied. If the predators disappear, those that were their prey have free field to reproduce without control, and that caused that alces and deer proliferate, creating a huge imbalance in the population of herbivores and, therefore, in the flora of the park. In the end, overparation and a overpopulation of wild herbivores caused the trees to disappear from Yellowstone. Lobos, to curra. The trees that worried were the scenes and it is not a matter of the alces to stay without food. How can we read in Oregon State UniversityThey are vital elements for birds that nest in them and for beavers, among other species. Thus, in 1995 the decision of V was madeOlver to incorporate those predators to the ecosystem. Lobos, Bears and Pumas, another predator practically removed from the area, returned to the place they should never abandon, and the results have not taken to appear. Results. Luke Painter, professor of ecology and conservation at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Oregon, comments that “The reintroduction of great carnivores has started a recovery process that had been paralyzed for decades. ” studyThey detail that the “price” is the sustained decrease in population of the Cervus canadensisallowing the quarrels to experience exceptional growth. This “trophic waterfall” examined 87 rhods of poplars in northern Yellowstone, finding that 43% of them presented a new population of small trees between five and ten centimeters in diameter, being the first positive count since the 1940s. They comment that the density of grazing remains the dominant factor for the regeneration of poplar, but that that Introduction of predators has relieved the load that herbivores exert in the ecosystem. In addition, the study rules out changes in the climate as the main cause of that recovery, once again influencing the importance of the reintroduction of the wolf as the element that has caused “changes in the distribution of the ALCE, giving rise to recovery”. The Wolf as a lever. Not everyone is on that ship. A previous study On the part of researchers at Utah State University and the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point put on the table that, although the role of the wolf had been important for the recovery of poplar, its role was exaggerated due to the way in which previous measurements were made. But what has happened in Yellowstone is not an isolated story. That persecution of the wolf has been lived in other areas and, in Europe, due to its impact on livestock, they are also promulgated laws for extermination. The ecological consequences are similar to the views in Yellowstone and, in Scotland, there is an overpopulation of red deer that are ending local forests. At a time when we need trees so that They catch co₂it is already being raised release more than 150 wolves in the ‘Highlands’ Scottish to control deer and save forests. While some release them… But as we are condemned to repeat the story, at the end of 2024, the Permanent Committee of the Bern agreement voted in favor of reduce wolf protection status. This makes it “strictly protected” to “protected”, which opens the door to A desire on the part of certain parliamentariansfarmers and hunters: that can bother the wolf. And not with paint ballsas in Netherlands. In Xataka | Russia has found a frozen wolf 44,000 years ago “in perfect condition.” First decision: open it

After the giant wolf, a huge bird of New Zealand wins points to be desixtinquida. And Peter Jackson has a lot to do

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‘Jurassic Park‘It is a science fiction story until it ceases to be. Not so much because there are those who consider current technology can bring dinosaurs backbut because there is already a company that is returning to life species that were extinguished thousands of years ago. It is colossal and are accepting requests to relive your favorite extinct animal. Whenever you call yourself Peter Jackson and have 25 million dollars to donate them. “Hobby”Jackson does not need presentations at this point. After several minor films, he jumped to world fame with his adaptation of ‘The Lord of the Rings‘, which allowed him to fulfill another of his dreams: roll a King Kong movie. In the tape the love that the New Zealander director feels for animals from other times, but that passion transcends to the screen was felt. Interestingly, one of the director’s fun is to collect Moa bones, to the point of having one of the largest private collections in the world focused on the bones of that extinct animal. “The movies are my work, but the moa are my hobby,” commented Jackson. From left to right a kiwi, an ostrich and a moa. They were … big De -sextinging the moa. But … what is a moa? In a nutshell, it’s like a kiwi, but about three meters high, about 250 kilos and can not fly either. His closest living relatives would be the aforementioned kiwis, but also the casuaries and the most similar would be Emú. New Zealand natives, the MOA was not extinguished: we extinguish it. When the Maori arrived at the islands, they began to hunt them and, although sightings have been reported in the nineteenth century, there is no evidence of this and it is considered that the MOA was extinguished, at least 500 years ago. Jackson comments that “any Neozyre child feels fascination with Moa.” Colossal comes into play. The filmmaker has between 300 and 400 Moa bones, and it will be that private collection the one that drives The animal’s de -sexyction thanks to a company called Colossal. It is not the first time we talk about them, since it is a company dedicated to biotechnology that has become popular for their interest in Return animal to life like mammoth or the Tasmania tiger. Also to Dodo. What they do is Take extinct animal DNAsomething that can be done from bones such as those that Jackson possesses and, the more remains, the better, and combine it with samples of relatives who live today. That is the easy thing: the complicated thing comes when, once the genetic information of the two DNA is combined, they are “filtering variants” to edit the genes and get exactly the animal they want. Finally, a living animal is used to give birth to the “new” creature. And it is not cheap. Money. A lot. In a recent financing round, Colossal Biosciences reached a assessment of 10,200 million dollars. At the end of 2024, Jackson already He collaborated With 10 million dollars in Colossal Bioscience, but now it has donated another 15 million for the company to place the MOA in its list of ‘goals’. This implies that we will take time to see the result. Now, Colossal is not just castles in the air. In April of this year, the company advertisement His first success: they had achieved resurrect the giant wolf, the Aenocyon Dirus. Now there are three puppies called Romulo, Remo and Khaleesi that, with six months of age – they were born in January this year – they have reached a weight of about 36 kilos and a length of 120 cm. They are expected to reach 180 cm and 68 kilos each. Jackson on the left and Ben Lamm, one of the founders of Colossal, on the right. Both with moa bones Complex. We will see what happens to the moa, but there are those who think that what is best colossal is Sell the motorcycle. With the MOA we are at a very early stage of the welcoming, but as we read in Physthe process seems to be more complex than with the wolves. Beth Shapiro is the chief scientist of Colossal and has commented that, unlike what happens with mammals, bird embryos develop inside eggs, so the process of transferring an embryo to a substitute mother will be very different from in vitro fertilization in mammals. Nic Rawlence is a paleontologist who works at the University of Otago and has commented that reviving New Zealand birds “is not scientifically possible with current technology.” The problem is that there is no good moa genome and its closest relatives are the Tinamúesof those who separated 60 million years ago. Criticism Apart from that, which is an important challenge, there is another issue: if an extinct animal is revived, is the patent of nature or the responsible company? Ben Lamm, the director of Colossal, has already explained that They do not want to monetize those animals directly, but sell its technology. But of course, he does not close the door to patent what they wish. And, although Alex, 10 would love to see a tyrannosaur in the streets of San Diego, the current Alex knows that no company is going to do it for love of art and that, probably, it does not matter that the habitat of that animal does not look like it or the least to the one he had at the time of his disappearance. Who is excited It’s Jackson. “Returning the moa to life would be so exciting, if not more, than any movie you could do.” Images | Colossal, Kkpcw, Gage Skidmore In Xataka | We just closed a primate. If someone believes that brings us closer to the cloning of humans, it is wrong

The wolf hunting throughout Spain depended on a red button that changes its status. And Europe has decided to press it

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The wolf has just seen how his future is complicated in European soil. And not because of pollution, global warming, a new disease that affects herds or the loss of their ecosystem. No. The key is in the EU Official Gazettewhich has just published the directive that degrades the status of protection of the species, passing it from “strictly protected” to only “protected”. Maybe it sounds like a smaller detail or pure community bureaucracy, but In the case of Spain It will allow hunters to reduce animals throughout the country. The reason: a chain of legal changes. What happened? After years of controversypolitical anger and a rifirrafe attempt between environmentalists and hunters, over the last months the wolf has seen how cracks opened in the legal armor that protected him from the hunters. And the reason must be sought in a series of decisions adopted nationally and community. In the case of Spain, one of the key steps to reduce the protection of the wolf In Marchduring the processing of the Law on Food Waste in Congress. Now there has been a new step in that same direction, but at the broader level, with a change that It has just officialized he EU Official Gazette. And what change is that? Basically degrades The status of the Canis lupus. Instead of being considered a “strictly protected species”, as until now, it appears in the list of “protected”. Without more. It may seem like a small adjustment, but in practice it supposes that the wolf will appear without nuances in the list of animals that “can be subject to management measures.” That is, hunt. The European directive was approved a few days ago, June 17but just officialize in the EU Official Gazetteas He has revealed eldiario.es. Again it may seem simple bureaucratic, but it has important repercussions: from now on it opens a period of 20 days For the entry into force of change, so on July 14 the wolf will have lost its “strictly protected” status. Is it a novelty? Yes. And no. The change made in the Habitat Directive to beginning of this month And his recent publication in “The Community Boe” are important news for their impact, but they will actually surprise few. The wolf’s legal armor has been a reason for debate at European level. The controversy can be at least 2022, when the president of the CE, Ursula von der Leyen, lost his favorite pony for the attack of a wolf. That same year Brussels commissioned a “In -depth analysis” on the increase of the species in the continent thanks to its legal armor against the hunters. What was your conclusion? “The concentration of wolves in some European regions has become a real danger to cattle and, potentially, also for humans”, He reflected Von der Leyen in 2023. In the same statement, the CE encouraged local authorities to “take measures when necessary.” What happened since then? That community machinery has continued working on the subject. TO late 2024 The Permanent Committee of the Berna Agreement voted in favor of the EU proposal to reduce the wolf protection status, so that it passed from “strictly protected” to only “protected”, and In March The Commission moved again to propose that this change was transferred to its Habitats directiveadaptation that He received green light This same month. And what happens in Spain? The wolf has not only been the protagonist of community policy. Throughout the last years it has also served to warm the debate in Spain, where environmentalists, hunters or the parliamentary arch itself differs on the degree of protection that the species must enjoy in the Peninsula. Ecologists in action He thinks for example, authorizing his hunt “turns his back on science.” For the RFF it will help the “coexistence” With the farmers. With that backdrop, three months ago Congress adopted a series of fundamental measures for the future of the wolf in our country. The most immediate affected the herds located north of the Duero River. The lower house He endorsed A change in The Royal Decree that develops the Lespre to eliminate the protection of the animals located in that territory and that the autonomies can decide on their hunting. In practice that meant returning them to the situation in which they were before 2021. And what happens to the south of the Duero? It is there where there will be news from now on. In March Congress He opened the door Also to be reduced by the protection of the wolf to the south of the Duero, but as long as its community protection is reduced before, something that has just been formalized. In that way The species comes out of the special protection regime list also south of the Duero River. Interestingly, the Congress of Deputies made the decision while processed a law on food waste management. The reason: the promoters of the amendment that made possible the change in the Statute of the Wolf They argued that the attacks of the wolves to the cattle generate thousands of kilos of lost meat. Images | Leopold de Castro (Flickr) 1 and 2 In Xataka | We have made the giant wolves return after 10,000 extinct years. The problem is that they “return” may not be the right word

After the controversies with the wolf, farmers and hunters begin to have a problem with another protected species: the lynx

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The return of the Iberian lynx (Lynx Pardinus) is seen by many as one of the great successes achieved by conservation policies. The species has passed in the last decades of touching the extinction to its recent recthtelogation by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN): these felines were no longer considered as a species “in danger” but as “vulnerable.” End of idyll. The reintroduction of this animal could also be seen as a success in marketingwhich turned a stretched and disdain animal on the Iberian Fauna icon. Now that image seems to be blurring. At least among farmers and hunters, as Ramón Pérez de Ayala, responsible for the WWF species program, recently explained, in statements collected by eldiario.es. Frustrated reintroductions. The misgivings from the agricultural sector are not exactly new, but in recent months their complaints seem to have won some battles. The most recent, in Catalonia, where last month the Government ended the plans to reintroduce to the cat. It was not the first battle that lost the lynx in recent months. In October, Ministry of Environment, Housing and Planning of the Territory of the Board of Castilla y León approved the reintroduction of the lynx In Palencia But he left the Zamoran Duero’s cannons outside the project, according to The local press explained at the time. In this province, the rejection by the agricultural sector had become evident months ago. What’s happening. The obstacles to this animal could be striking but respond to the complexity of integrating the feline reintroduction plans with the agricultural system in the new habitats designated for the species. The problem does not have so much to do with the lynx but with one of its prey: rabbits. The rabbit is a central part of the lynx diet. So much so that Fear of farmers and hunters is in the possibility that the plans for reintroduction of the lynx will be accompanied by protection measures for rabbits. Different sectors, different perspectives. For hunters the problem is double: first because they must compete for dams With these animals; second to the possibility that the protection measures of lynx and rabbits prevent the hunting of the latter. For farmers the problem is with the possibility that the measures trigger the population of rabbits. These herbivores, They have denounced Sometimes from the agricultural sector, they suppose a threat to crops, which unleashes the misgivings of the sector to the plans to reintroduce to its predator. The furtivism, another threat. The problems for the lynx and their lace in Spanish ecosystems do not stay there. Last year for example He denounced the illegal hunting of these cats in Murcia, and the impact of this on the probabilities of success of reintroduction efforts. In recent decades, problems with the attacks of these carnivores to farm animals have also been occasionally recorded. A study Published in 2013, he pointed out that in the previous six years 40 lynx attacks were counted that were charged with the lives of hundreds of farm animals. The problem He has persisted In the last decade. Not just the lynx. Problems with carnivorous reintroductions such as lynx, wolf or bear in Spain have become a almost constant confrontation focus between environmentalists and the agricultural and hunting sectors. The problem is not exclusive to the country even of the Peninsula. So much so that from Europe the possibility of lowering the protection of the wolf seems aimed at materializing in a matter of weeks. In Xataka | We have lost track of one of the few mammals that put eggs. Now we have rediscovered it Image | Konrads Bilderwerkstatt

Spain will go from an opposite olive oil crisis in less than a year. The industry begins to see the ears to the wolf

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Two weeks. Two weeks of consecutive falls in the price of olive oil in origin have enough to put the entire sector on red alert. But … why? Wasn’t high prices They were also suffocating To the industry causing millionaire losses? What are low is also a problem? Let’s go in parts … how much has the price of oil dropped? As reported Agroinformationas of January 31, the average price in extra virgin olive oil was 4,275 euros/ton, in the virgin oil of 3,701 euros/ton and in the lampante of 3,452 euros/ton. That represents a fall of 3.20%, 6.80% and 2.80% respectively compared to last week and a 50.55% drop, 52.55% and 56.55% compared to the year past. And why is this a problem? Because, As we explained a few weeks agothe historical profitability limit for the traditional dry land olive tree is around four euros. If the low price of that figure, the farmers (dry) will not be able to cover the fixed costs. And this would not be a problem if it were not because more than two thirds of the Spanish olive grove is dry (1.913,531 hectares in front of 874,553 of irrigation). From a crisis to the opposite. It is curious because, in recent years, the situation has been the opposite: but the result is the same. The Olivareros de dryo did not have enough olive to compensate for fixed expenses – although the price was in the clouds. In addition, the distributors could not impact all the rise in the final prices (deoleo, the largest oil company in the world, owner of brands such as hojiblanca or carbonell, It was left 34.3 million euros in 2023). Isn’t it a bit weird? The truth is that no. In recent years, we have seen exactly the same problem with The lemons, The almonds either bananas. The olive grove has been relatively protected because it is a product with a limited international competition: what was not protected is of climate change. In fact, those who have been (those of irrigation who have not suffered cuts) have not had this problem. The irrigation has been the great beneficiary (or the least harmed) of these successive crises: they had more olives when prices were expensive and have less costs now than prices are low. Can the olive grove be saved? That is the big question. If the industry continues to hook financially complicated years, the problems can be increasing. Therefore, the Olivar tendency has been “go passing“To irrigation (or to ultraintensive models). There is no water for everyone. “The difficult thing is to have water because the Guadalquivir basin is already deficient, so there are no new concessions,” explained in DAP Diego BarrancoProfessor at the University of Córdoba. These concessions do have “historical plots of other crops that were always irrigated or the olive groves that emerged” directly as “irrigation”. However, transforming 1,901,529 hectares of olive groves before it is too late one of the most important agricultural challenges of the century. And it is not clear that we can do it. Image | Kostas Morfiris | Visual Karsa In Xataka | Spain faces the problem contrary to a year ago: an olive oil so cheap that it is no longer profitable for farmers

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