Saturday 1 December 2012

Newsletter December 2012

Sierra de la Culebra February 2012
Hello Everyone,

Iberian Lynx May 2012
As the days shorten, it is increasingly a time for looking back over the past year and anticipating the year to come. 2012 has been a busy year for John and me and we feel privileged to have shared so much time with such a wide variety of wonderful people this past year. We reminisce about the hilarious moments, frustrating times, breathtaking views and those unforgettable wildlife encounters!

 Looking ahead to 2013, we continue to offer our Watching for Wolves and Looking for Lynx tours, plus two new additions - Browsing for Bears in the stunning Somiedo National Park and the Extremadura Experience . I hope you find time to look at our website again to discover details of what we have to offer for the coming year.

On a more chilling note, I draw your attention to a disturbing article from the Center (sic) for Biological Diversity detailing the fate of wolves which are once again being legally persecuted:-

"Since wolves in Wyoming lost their Endangered Species Act protection last month, 49 wolves have been killed in state-sanctioned hunts and unregulated killing on "predator" zones.  In the three Rocky Mountain states where wolves have been delisted - Idaho, Montana and Wyoming - 177 wolves have been killed after just one month of hunting and trapping."

Sierra de la Culebra May 2012
We cannot close our eyes to trigger-happy trophy hunting, and I thank Shirley and Jim for alerting me to this article, but we can only hope that education plus sensitive eco-tourism can eventually prove strong enough to relegate such practices to the history books.

On a positive note, we have learned that the three local wolf packs which we concentrate upon in Sierra de la Culebra  have each successfully reared 5 cubs this summer;  promising news for some good sightings in 2013 we hope!

John and I thank you for your interest throughout 2012 and wish all friends of Wild Wolf Experience a peaceful and prosperous 2013.

All best wishes,

Margaret.

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