Living Desert seeks to debunk wolf myths
By Victoria Parker-Stevens/Current-Argus Staff Writer
CARLSBAD – Little Red Riding Hood’s assailant was not your average wolf.
“There are a lot of myths out there,” said Holly Payne, zoological general
curator at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park. “They’re usually
pretty shy creatures.”
From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. today, visitors will have the chance to find out
more about the Mexican
gray wolf and the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program. There will also be crafts
for the kids.
The free event kicks off Wolf Awareness Week, and features a talk by
Melissa Woolf, a wildlife biologist from Ladder Ranch.
The ranch near Caballo, owned by media mogul Ted Turner, works with the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to re-introduce Mexican gray wolves into
the wild.
The wolves were once found in mountainous regions from central Mexico into
southern Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, including the Guadalupe Mountains.
Predator removal efforts eliminated the wolf from the wild, and it was
placed on the federal endangered species list in the 1970s.
More than 40 zoos and wildlife sanctuaries in the United States and Mexico
– including Living Desert – house about 200 wolves owned by the Fish and
Wildlife Service. They are bred as part of a species survival plan, with
some selected for re-introduction.
Areas of re-introduction, which began in 1998, have included the Gila
Wilderness of southwestern New Mexico. The effort has not been without
critics, particularly ranchers who do not want to lose cattle to the
predators.
Payne said the two female wolves currently at Living Desert are too old to
be sent to breeding facilities. Chica, 11, and Alita, 9, are nearing their
12- to 14-year life expectancy. They’ve been at the park for almost six
years.
“Since we have Mexican wolves here, people can actually see them and
appreciate them more,” she said about the park’s involvement in Wolf
Awareness Week, coordinated nationwide by Defenders of Wildlife.
Payne said the North Carolina Zoo she worked at before moving to Carlsbad
earlier this year increased its participation in the event, and she’d like
to see the same thing happen here.
While Living Desert has had presentations about the park’s involvement,
visitors this year can learn about the entire recovery effort, said
Kathryn Jones, interpretive park ranger.
Jones made the park’s connection with the aptly named Woolf, who is
married to a ranger at Elephant Butte Lake State Park.
“We’re very excited,” she said.
“The more people learn about things like this, the better,” she said.
Jones said the park would also like to expand its involvement in wolf
recovery. Possibilities include closer partnerships with other facilities
and becoming a breeding location.
On the Net:
Defenders of Wildlife’s Wolf Awareness Week: http://www. defenders.org/waw
Mexican Wolf Recovery Program: http://mexicanwolf.fws.gov
Smithsonian National Zoological Park:
http://natzoo.si.edu/Animals/NorthAmerica/Conservation/MexicanWolves