BY MARY KATHERINE RAY, WILDLIFE CHAIR
FEATURED IMAGE “ASHA” WITH PUP, U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE
This spring marks the 11th year of wolf pup cross-fostering. Seventeen Mexican wolf pups were transferred from captive dens into wild dens to increase the wild population’s genetic diversity.
Now the agency has released good news about the wolf Asha. She famously twice roamed north beyond the arbitrary I-40 boundary. First, she almost got to Colorado and, after being captured and located south again, she journeyed north a second time to the Valles Caldera. Then she was placed into captivity with a captive born male wolf named Arcadia.
They mated last year, but no pups were forthcoming. This spring, the two have had a litter of five. Once the pups are old enough for their vaccinations, the US Fish and Wildlife Service promises the whole family is going to be released. They are currently in an acclimation pen on the Ladder Ranch. When ready, the agency will open the gates to let them run free on Ladder Ranch land which has agreed to accept them. Hopefully with a family, Asha will stay home. She never preyed on livestock on her travels and successfully avoided humans. She can teach her mate and pups to do the same.
Unfortunately, another wandering wolf named Ella roamed north of I-40 at the end of March. Just as news about her was spreading, she was found dead near Mt. Taylor. No cause has been released.
This roaming behavior is ingrained in young wolves and their moves north indicate suitable habitat is available. We have long urged the Fish and Wildlife Service to let wolves roam as they once did throughout the southwest, but so far the agency will not relent.
It’s also always jarring when Fish and Wildlife, tasked with recovering wolves, also removes them from the wild. Ranchers complained that the Mañada del Arroyo pack in the bootheel of NM preyed on their cattle. In May, even though the pack was denning, the agency captured the male and female parents and two pups and placed them into captivity. Even more disheartening, a third pup was euthanized in the den for being in poor health according to the agency.
Bowing again to livestock interests, Fish and Wildlife ordered one uncollared wolf to be killed from the Bear Canyon Pack in Arizona. But in a glaring instance of incompetence, a seven-year-old collared female was killed by mistake by the agency in April. No explanation has been offered for this error. The slain wolf may have been pregnant, making the fiasco even more tragic.
Shortly after, another wolf, Viento, of the Hail Canyon pack in New Mexico was also purposefully gunned down by Fish and Wildlife order. Both wolves had been accused of preying on livestock, but killing any one member of a pack to stop this behavior is controversial and scientifically questionable.
Emboldened ranchers in wolf country have continued to flex their political muscle. The Catron County Commission declared a wolf emergency in April and has asked Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to declare a state emergency to release funds and provide National Guard assistance to “protect” the county from wolves. Sierra and Socorro counties have followed suit.
Even though Mexican wolves have never harmed a human, the fear mongering has been extreme. And funds are already available both for compensation for documented wolf livestock losses and for coexistence measures. The governor, thankfully, has not responded to this request.
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