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Mexican gray wolf killed after preying on cattle
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)--The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says a federal sharpshooter has killed an endangered Mexican gray wolf that was preying on cattle on an Indian reservation in Arizona.
Trappers had been trying to capture the wolf, a member of the Saddle Pack, since March but the rough terrain and the wolf's erratic movements made it too difficult.
The wolf was tracked to the San Carlos Apache Reservation July 11 and killed with a single gunshot, said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Elizabeth Slown.
The agency decided in June to authorize the lethal action, marking the second time federal agents have killed a wolf in the New Mexico-Arizona region since the Mexican wolf reintroduction program began in 1998.
"Lethal take is our last choice for removing wolves," said Dale Hall, director of the agency's southwest region. "The loss of any individual animal that could contribute to the recovery of a threatened species cannot be taken lightly."
Before the reintroduction program began, Hall said the Fish and Wildlife Service made a promise that it would remove depredating wolves.
"We must keep that promise," Hall said. "Otherwise, we compromise the program."
The agency blames the 6-year-old male wolf for five livestock depredations since March when he and his mate killed cattle on tribal land.
The female was quickly trapped and returned to captivity at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, where she gave birth to five pups and is now paired with a different male.
The reintroduction program began with the release of 11 captive-bred wolves into the wild in Arizona in March 1998. The goal is to have a sustainable population of 100 Mexican gray wolves in their historic habitat.
Date: 7/22/04
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