Wolf pups taken from Gila den to Albuquerque facility
Officials with the wolf-recovery program on Sunday dug seven newborn pups
out of their den near Beaverhead on the Gila National Forest.
The animals, which were taken to a facility in Albuquerque, are
“candidates for possible future re-release” into the wild, program
official Tom Bauer told the Daily Press.
The pups’ parents, known as the Pipestem pair, are still free but slated
for capture because of their alleged involvement in at least two recent
cattle depredations, includ-ing one on the Adobe Ranch.
“We set traps (Sunday near the den) for the female, but she did not return
to the den site,” Bauer said. “We fully intend to capture the pair and
return them to captivity.”
The pair, the only survivors of two packs released into the Gila in March
2000, “began scavenging on livestock carcasses this spring and then
transitioned into killing cattle,” the Center for Biological Diversity
wrote in a news release.
The center recently filed a formal 60-day notice of intent to sue the
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for “their failures to
address the problem of livestock carcasses, thus leading to wolves
scavenging on them and suffering removal from the wild.”
Michael Robinson, who staffs the center’s office in Pinos Altos, added:
“The Pipestem wolves are the victims of a control program masquerading as
a recovery program.”
Wolf pups removed from Gila in effort to capture parents
Associated Press
May 07, 2002 15:20:00
SILVER CITY, N.M. – A litter of seven Mexican gray wolf pups has been
removed from the Gila National Forest in an effort to capture their
parents.
The pups were removed Sunday and were transported to Albuquerque, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Tom Bauer said Tuesday.
“They’re healthy and strong and lively,” Bauer said. “We’re glad they’re
in and safe.”
The parents, a pair from the pack called the Pipestem pack, have been
wanted for killing cattle.
On March 22, the wolves killed a newborn calf on the Adobe Ranch,
according to the Fish and Wildlife Web site. Two days later another calf
was killed.
The pair are the only survivors of two packs released in the Gila two
years ago.
An environmental group said management of the wolf reintroduction program
is to blame for the problems and the need to remove the pups and recapture
their parents.
“The Pipestem wolves are the victims of a control program masquerading as
a recovery program,” Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological
Diversity said in a news release. “Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to
reform its rules according to the urgent recommendations of the scientific
community will guarantee future such removals, killings and maimings of
these wolves.”
Bauer said the agency is working this week to capture the parents.
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 struck by cars
and others have been recaptured after threatening livestock.
Robinson said the center has filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S.
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management over failure to remove
livestock carcasses from the area.