Wolves to be released in the Gila Wilderness
By Tanya Soussan
For El Defensor Chieftain
A pack of six endangered Mexican gray wolves and five pups will be
released in the Gila Wilderness later this month.
The release will more than double the population of eight wild wolves
in
New Mexico.
Meanwhile, a female wolf from the same pack was found dead east of
Vernon, Ariz., last week, said assistant program coordinator Colleen
Buchanan of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The wolf was found near where her mate, who was shot, was found dead
earlier this year. Buchanan said the cause of the female’s death is still
under investigation.
The wolves are part of a reintroduction effort that aims to repopulate
southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona with lobos.
The Francisco Pack, scheduled for release in the Gila, was originally
released in Arizona. But the alpha pair and their four yearlings were
recaptured after they strayed onto the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
The tribe does not want wolves on their land.
The pack is now at the Ladder Ranch near Truth or Consequences. The
pups
were born there seven weeks ago.
“This is a group of wolves, not the whole pack, but a group of wolves
that learned to survive in the wild away from human habitation and urban
areas,” said Chuck Hayes, assistant chief of conservation services for the
New Mexico Game and Fish Department.
“They have been very productive in terms of bringing off pups and
making
a contribution to the wild population. From that point of view, they are
very valuable.”
The Francisco Pack will be the second pack released in New Mexico this
year. The 6-year-old alpha wolves were among the original animals released
when the reintroduction program started in 1998.
Other wolves have killed cattle on the San Carlos Apache Reservation,
but
the Fish and Wildlife Service believes the Francisco Pack wolves were not
the culprits.
“The best evidence we have is that the animals we are planning to
translocate were not involved in depredation,” Buchanan said.
There are 18 radio-collared wolves in the wild now, down from about 30
in
the past. Buchanan said there are probably many uncollared pups in the
wild as well.
The White Mountain Apache tribe is also planning to release a wolf pack
on its land in Arizona this summer, she said.