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Thursday, October 2, 2003
Fourth Gray Wolf Found Dead By Jeff Jones Journal Staff Writer Another endangered Mexican gray wolf has been found dead in southwestern New Mexico— the fourth in what has become the deadliest two-week stretch in the wolf recovery program's history. The body of the alpha male of the Gapiwi Pack was discovered Sunday on a road near Snow Lake on the northern edge of the Gila Wilderness. People near the scene reported hearing a gunshot shortly before the wolf was found. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it could not provide a cause of death until a necropsy is completed. "It's a blow to lose any animal in a pack, but especially the alpha," said Colleen Buchanan, assistant wolf recovery coordinator. "The pack had been doing good." Three other endangered wolves have been found dead since Sept. 15: One near Gilita Creek, not far from Snow Lake; another off U.S. 180 near Silver City; and a third across the New Mexico border in southeastern Arizona. Necropsy results on those animals also have not yet been released. But Michael Robinson, a wolf program advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, based near Silver City, has said there is a good chance all three of those wolves also were gunned down. "My assumption is that all these wolves were shot. We may have a wolf serial killer out there," Craig Miller, southwest director of Defenders of Wildlife, said Wednesday. "This clearly is a calculated effort to sabotage the recovery program." The Fish and Wildlife Service as a matter of policy does not comment on the cause of wolf deaths until its investigations are complete. Buchanan said that federal law-enforcement officers are discussing the string of wolf deaths. Miller said a boost in law enforcement in the wolf-recovery area helped stop a string of killings that took place in the months after the program began in 1998. He said another such boost is needed and announced that a reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a wolf killer has been upped to $25,000. Also on Wednesday, 17 conservation groups— including Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club— announced they have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a recent Fish and Wildlife Service decision that lessened protection for most gray wolves. The March decision moved most gray wolves from endangered status to threatened status. Although Mexican gray wolves remain endangered, Miller said the decision "eliminates the emphasis on recovering Mexican wolves within their historic range," eliminates them as a legally identified entity and lumps them into the same category as wolves that historically had lived much farther north. Miller said the decision could result in fewer Mexican gray wolves in fewer areas. Buchanan said she could not comment on the lawsuit. But Brian Kelly, former coordinator of Mexican wolf reintroduction, has said the changes would not affect the program. Buchanan said the wolf that was found dead on Sunday and its mate, Female 624, had been released in the Gila Wilderness in April 2002. The pair had at least one pup last year and up to three pups this year. The death of the alpha male could now jeopardize the survival of this year's pups. Female 624 has "got a lot of wild experience herself. She seems to know how to make it, but feeding two or three more mouths is a lot of extra energy on her part," Buchanan said. Buchanan last week said the total wild population of endangered Mexican gray wolves in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona is an estimated 50 or 60 wolves. David Parsons, who ran the Mexican wolf program until 1999, was backpacking in the Gila Wilderness and happened upon the dead wolf while driving out from the trailhead. He said the wolf had tags in both ears and was wearing a radio collar. "I saw that wolf, and my heart just sank," Parsons said Wednesday. He said he spoke with some hunters in the area, who told him they'd heard a gunshot in the dark before sunup. Parsons said when he was running the program, "it was never clear to us if people with guns were out looking for wolves to shoot, or if wolves were shot because they were mistaken for coyotes." He said it would be a good idea to prohibit coyote shooting in wolf recovery areas during big-game hunting seasons to help curb unintentional wolf killings. The Fish and Wildlife Service wolf hot line is 1-888-459-9653. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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