BOISE, Idaho (AP) — State wildlife officials are uncertain about the future of a wolf pup that was found a week ago near Ketchum by a pair of tourists.
The animal remains in quarantine at Zoo Boise, where he is undergoing additional tests that Idaho Fish and Game biologists hope will confirm whether he is a wolf or a hybrid.
The pup was recovered last week in the Smoky Mountains northwest of Ketchum by two out-of-state campers. The tourists say they watched the pup for an hour and didn’t see any signs of the wolf pack before bringing it to a veterinarian.
Fish and Game officials spent two days trying to locate the pack, but questions remain whether the pack would welcome back the pup.
Suzanne Stone, a wolf expert with the Defenders of Wildlife, sought guidance from wolf biologists worldwide on whether the pack would accept the pup if he were returned. She was deluged with replies — from Europe, Africa, Canada and across the United States — that supported launching an aerial search and keep looking.
“We haven’t given up yet,” Stone told The Idaho Statesman. “We have weeks if we can find this pack.”
For state wildlife officials, however, the lesson is simple: Anyone who sees what appears to be an abandoned wolf pup should leave it alone and let nature take its course.
Mike Keckler, spokesman for Idaho Fish and Game, said the parents likely were moving pups from a den to a rendezvous site, usually within a mile or two. The fact the tourists stayed and watched the pup for so long may have kept the rest of the pack away.
“They didn’t know that the pack would have been right there,” Keckler said.
Zoo Boise officials are reaching out to other zoos to find a home for the pup if biologists decide to keep it in captivity.