Nine Mexican wolves released in northeastern Arizona
Copyright 2001 Associated Press
June 20, 2001
ALPINE, Ariz. - A family of nine endangered Mexican gray wolves was released in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in northeastern Arizona.
The two adults, four yearlings and three pups born just eight weeks ago were put in a mesh pen Tuesday. The wolves are expected to chew their way out.
If they don't, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel will release them, said agency spokeswoman Vicki Fox.
The adults were born in captivity and paired in a facility near Truth or Consequences, N.M. The younger wolves were born there. None of the wolves has been in the wild before.
The release came as the federal wolf reintroduction program, aimed at establishing a population of wolves in Arizona and New Mexico, undergoes a three-year review.
A panel of independent scientists said the program should continue, but with modifications because the wolves are coming in contact with humans too often. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans a series of meetings beginning this month to get the public's comments.
Environmentalists have praised the attempt to return wolves to the wild, but ranchers see the program as a threat to livestock.
The program started in 1998 with the release of 11 wolves. Of the 60 wolves released since then, only about 26 remain in the wild.