PHOENIX — Federal authorities have removed a male Mexican gray wolf from a pack in eastern Arizona and relocated him to a service facility in New Mexico.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said Friday that the wolf from the Paradise Pack was darted in a helicopter operation before being transported in a non-lethal removal process.
Officials initially authorized the capture last month, saying several livestock kills were linked to two alpha wolves in the pack- a male and a female.
Efforts to capture those wolves were put on hold during the recent government shutdown.
The Mexican wolf was added to the federal endangered species list in 1976.
The 15-year effort to reintroduce them in New Mexico and Arizona has stumbled due to legal battles, illegal shootings, politics and other problems.
Associated Press