New wolf pack to be released in Arizona
Associated Press
June 13, 2002 08:00:00
A pack of nine Mexican gray wolves has been transported from a New Mexico
wildlife refuge to Arizona’s Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
The U.S. Fish and Wildfire Service this week placed the wolves in a soft
mesh pen about 15 miles southwest of Alpine in eastern Arizona.
The pack will stay in the pen until they chew their way out or until they
are acclimated to the area and released by program managers.
The Bluestem Pack includes an alpha pair, a 2-year-old male and female and
five pups. They are named for the native bluestem grasses found in their
new territory.
The wolves are part of a federal reintroduction program that started in
1998 on the Arizona-New Mexico border.
Since then, 11 packs with about 65 wolves have been released. Some wolves
have been shot or hit by cars and others have been recaptured after
threatening livestock.
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On the Net:
Mexican Wolf Reintroduction: http://ifw2es.fws.gov/MexicanWolf/
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