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Wolf pack released in Arizona

Wolf pack released in Arizona

By Tom Jackson King, Managing Editor

The population of Mexican gray wolves alive and well
in the forests of the Southwest increased by nine
recently when the Bluestem Pack was released near Fish
Creek, about 15 miles southwest of Alpine, on June 10.

“The Bluestem Pack consists of nine wolves, an alpha
male, a two-year-old male and female and five pups,”
Vickie Fox, a spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, said. “Their name results from
native bluestem grasses found in their new territory.”

Fox said the wolf family was transferred to Arizona
from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New
Mexico, with the wolves being placed into a soft
plastic mesh pen.

“Last evening the alpha male and the two two-year-olds
had chewed out of the pen. The female and five pups
remained inside the pen,” she said.

While the pups and female remain in and around the pen
,the USFWS is supplementally feeding them, but that
will discontinue once the family group moves off to
set up its own territory.

Brian Kelly, wolf program manager, said the
supplemental feeding was being done “to maximize the
survival of all members of the pack.”

The pups, which were born near the end of April in
Sevilleta and are only about two months old, were
inoculated against rabies, parvovirus and distemper,
according to Kelly. The alpha adults and the
two-year-olds were also inoculated before release.

“We’re trying to provide safety and to maximize their
probability of survival,” Kelly said.

A novel element of this wolf pack release is the
agency’s decision to include young adults in the
release along with the pups and their parents.

“We’re trying to mimic what the wolf biology tells us
is normal. The ‘helper’ wolves are from the same
parents and they’ve been around since the pups were
born,” Kelly said.

In the wild, wolves and other mammal predators such as
coyotes, lions, wild dogs and hyenas will often rely
upon “helper” young adults to feed and protect the
pack’s pups while the alpha pair are off hunting. In a
case like the Bluestem Pack, where the pups are still
taking milk from their mother and are not yet weaned,
having “helpers” present reduces the stress on the
parents, increases pack cohesion and improves the
survival rate for pups. Since 50 percent or more of
newborn wolf pups often die in their first year, the
release of this pack with “helper” animals may reduce
that natural level of death in the wild.

Kelly said the Bluestem Pack members are mainly wolves
that were born in Sevilleta. The five pups and two
two-year-olds were all born at Sevilleta, while the
alpha female came from a zoo. The alpha male was born
at Sevilleta.

Of the nine wolves released, the four adults are
radio-collared for tracking. The pups are not collared
because of their age and small size. As they grow,
USFWS field biologists will later capture and fit them
with radio collars.

Another pack of Mexican gray wolves continues to rest
in limbo at Sevilleta while blood and DNA tests are
run to determine whether one, several or none of the
pups born to the Pipestem Pack are hybrid animals — a
mixed mating with a dog — or purebreed wolves.

“We’re still waiting for the second go-round of
testing,” Fox said.

The first round of blood tests that was analyzed in
late April “was inconclusive” as to the parentage of
the seven pups born to the Pipestem Pack, a group that
was captured in Arizona and moved to Sevilleta partly
due to its history of attacks on cattle. Another
reason to move the Pipestem Pack was to inoculate the
pups and do whatever might be needed to ensure a high
survival rate for the pups. The pack continues to
reside at Sevilleta as blood testing continues.

“We have three very good genetics labs working on
this,” Kelly said. “A lot of people think genetics is
black and white, but it isn’t. It is truly
inconclusive (results).”

Kelly had earlier questioned the coloration of one
Pipestem pups and that raised questions about its
parentage.

“The coloring on one pup is not consistent with what
we expect of Mexican gray wolves,” he said.

A photograph supplied to the Era from a reliable
source shows seven pups arranged in a group. Six of
seven pups show a dark fur coloration. The seventh pup
shows a spotted fur, where the fur is light in tone
while the spots are dark ovals and oblongs. The
photograph was published in the Era’s June 5 edition.

Kelly was asked if it was true one Pipestem pup is
spotted.

“I wouldn’t be sure enough to say that,” he said.

Kelly then expressed concern that someone in his
agency had made an unauthorized release of wolf
photos. He said the agency hadn’t released any
photographs of Pipestem Pack pups to the news media
partly to avoid speculation prior to the arrival of
factual scientific data on the parentage of the
Pipestem Pack pups.

The Pipestem parentage issue is important because if
one or more pups is found to be a hybrid with mixed
blood it will likely be euthanized, or killed, by
USFWS as part of the agency’s effort to keep the
Mexican gray wolf gene pool pure and uncontaminated.

Copyright 2002 Eastern Arizona Courier.

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