Remember the De-Exinct Dire Wolves? They’re Now Fully Grown and Have Formed a Pack 🐺

I’m currently at the “it’s Thursday already?” phase of the workweek and am unsure as to whether or not that is a good thing as of yet.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get this Thursday morning dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about today:

NOT SURE WHERE THIS TAKES US
REMEMBER THE DE-EXTINCT DIRE WOLVES? THEY’RE NOW FULLY GROWN AND HAVE FORMED A PACK

In a bold announcement made back in April of last year, a company by the name of Colossal Bioscience announced they had miraculously “brought back” an extinct species of wolf that hadn’t walked the Earth in about 10,000 years. And while on the surface, the announcement, which detailed how scientists resurrected these canines, was meant to be Earth shattering, many, including us, began to ask the question: "Did We Actually De-Extinct the Dire Wolf, or Just Create a Slightly Different Gray Wolf?"

A closer look at the process, which, yes, did involve the inclusion of fragmented ancient DNA extracted from fossils (a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull), also included CRISPR gene editing on modern gray wolf embryos. 

So, did we truly bring back the Dire Wolf?  Well, kind of.

Nonetheless, Colossal’s CEO Ben Lamm owned it stating that, if nothing else, these petri dish wolves captured the “essence” of the species rather than a perfect genetic replication. Either way you slice it, these hybrids were designed using about 20 targeted edits across 14 genes to instill traits like larger size, shaggier coats, and robust facial structures, so if nothing else, they’re pretty cool to look at.

With the three pups having been held in a secure and undisclosed location here in the US, there wasn’t much to be said about Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi until earlier this week when Colossal announced the trio’s progress…

🫎 Michigan DNR Team Collars 41 Moose in Upper Peninsula Winter Capture Effort. A collaborative research team from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, and Northern Michigan University has successfully completed this winter's moose capture and collaring effort in the western Upper Peninsula's core moose range. The multi-year study, which began last winter with 20 moose collared, aims to investigate why the region's moose population has remained stagnant—estimated at around 300 animals based on recent aerial surveys—despite earlier goals of reaching 1,000. Over four days this month, the team captured and collared 41 new moose, including 20 adult females, 10 adult males, and 11 calves, while also recollared two others, bringing the total number of active GPS tracking collars to 56.

The project involved helicopter darting for safe and efficient captures, followed by biological workups, sample collection, health checks (such as tick loads), and collar fitting before releasing the animals. Data from the collars will provide insights into moose movements, survival rates, mortality causes (e.g., predation, vehicle collisions), reproduction, nutrition, and other limiting factors.

🧑‍⚖️ Pennsylvania Man Faces Misdemeanor Charge After Shooting Fellow Hunter During Deer Drive. A 20-year-old hunter from McAlisterville, Pennsylvania, has been charged with a misdemeanor for shooting at, injuring, or killing a human being while hunting, following a fatal incident during a deer drive in Juniata County. The shooting occurred on December 2nd, off Vincent Tram Road in Milford Township, amid snowy conditions with poor visibility. Anthony Peachey II allegedly fired at what he believed was a deer, but the shot struck 26-year-old Floyd Wengerd in the right hip. Wengerd, part of a 22-person hunting party, was transported to a hospital but died from hypovolemic shock due to the gunshot wound, later ruled accidental by the Mifflin County Coroner.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission investigated and filed the charge yesterday, citing Peachey's carelessness which involved shooting in low-visibility conditions without confirming the positions of other drivers or what lay beyond his target. Peachey admitted to the act, stating “It was me,” and described the deer running between him and another hunter, but investigators noted he failed to ensure safety. He is awaiting a preliminary hearing, with no date scheduled yet.

🐺 Two Men Charged in Illegal Out-of-Season Gray Wolf Killing in Wyoming. A pair of men are now facing misdemeanor charges in Park County Circuit Court related to the alleged illegal killing of a gray wolf last June. The incident occurred in the Skull Creek/Pat O’Hara Creek area near Cody, within one of Wyoming's trophy game wolf hunt zones near Yellowstone National Park. Noah Mick is accused of shooting the wolf without a required hunting license and out of season (Wyoming's season in that area typically opens in mid-September), plus providing a false statement during registration. Cole Mick faces a single charge as an accessory to the unlicensed taking of the wolf.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department Game Warden Travis Crane issued the citations, with charges filed late last week. The agency has declined further comment due to the ongoing case. No additional details on evidence, pleas, or penalties have emerged publicly yet, as the story remains limited to recent reporting.

🐟 I’ve got no fish, bro! Watch as this pelican takes a bite out of an osprey after, we can all assume, he thought he was coming up with a fish.

The osprey’s face says it all as he flies away…

🗻 First Ascending: I am not good at climbing. But I fucking love it.

I love the way it asks you to trust something before it earns that trust. You step upward without knowing if the line will go, without knowing if the rock will hold, only believing—foolishly, maybe—that you will come back in one piece. Climbing leads you into places most people never see, places that feel unfinished, as if the world paused before deciding what they were for.

I don’t have many first ascents. My adult life ran in other directions—years spent burning time and taxpayer money in the Middle East with the Army, followed by the slower, weightier work of being a husband and a father of four. Those years teach you about responsibility. They also teach you how little room there is for wandering.

Still, the few first ascents I’ve managed feel like small, stubborn acts of defiance.   Read the full story.

🐏 Redemption Ram: With one measly preference point, I wasn’t expecting to see “Successful” next to my Wyoming bighorn sheep application. I logged in again and again, convinced I was hallucinating. When it finally sank in, the phone calls started.

Drawing a sheep tag is intoxicating. Friends and strangers reached out with advice, and I can’t thank them enough for their generosity and sharing hard-earned information. Fighting fire all summer meant no chance to scout, so I turned to research. The unit had been slipping, and I knew this hunt would be about the experience as much as the size of the ram itself. Read the full story.

👂 Listen for the Whistle: If you want to know the health of a Southern landscape, listen for the whistle.

Not the machinery kind. Not the wind. The thin, rising bob-WHITE that once stitched together fields, hedgerows, and pine woods across the South.

Bobwhite quail don’t survive by accident. They are not adaptable generalists. They are specialists—creatures of edge, disturbance, and restraint. Where quail live, the land is doing something right. Where they are gone, the land is usually still productive, but it has become simplified, overgrown, or overmanaged in the wrong ways.

Quail are not a nostalgia species. They are a barometer. Read the full story.

Oh, and one more thing…