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Update courtesy Patrick C. Valentino of the Julian Wolf Preserve
TUCSON, Ariz. -- One of two pairs of Mexican gray wolves set free last month in eastern Arizona has separated, but all four animals are doing well, a wildlife official said Monday.
Three weeks after the latest wolves were released following gunshot deaths to five predecessors, wildlife biologists are keeping tabs on the animals through radio telemetry and occasional sightings, U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokesman Hans Stuart said.
The wolves were released Dec. 11, three weeks after each pair was put into a separate acclimation pen to allow bonding. The Campbell Blue acclimation pen is about seven miles south of Alpine, some 12 miles from a pen at Engineer Springs.
Engineer Springs and a third acclimation pen at Turkey Creek, farther south toward Clifton -- both isolated from humans in more remote areas of the Apache National Forest -- will be used for the release of as many as 15 more wolves this year, said Stuart, spokesman for Fish and Wildlife's regional office in Albuquerque, N.M.
"That's in response to concerns from the community," he said. "However, we don't feel the location of the pens had anything to do with the wolf shootings, because wolves range very widely."
Last year, 11 of the endangered Mexican gray wolves, all raised in captivity, were set free in the same area, near the New Mexico border.
Five of the wolves were shot to death, one remains missing and presumed dead and three others had to be recaptured. The remaining two males were recaptured and re-released last month, paired with two new females.
All four were released with fluorescent yellow or orange spots on their thighs and fluorescent collars to distinguish them from coyotes for hunters. Coyotes can be shot without a permit.
But most of the paint had rubbed off within about a week of release, Stuart said.
Meanwhile, the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife ran newspaper advertisements last week saying the reward offer now stands at $50,000 -- up from $45,000 -- for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone illegally killing a Mexican wolf.
There have been no arrests, but authorities are not discouraged, Stuart said. "These things generally take time and we are still pursuing leads," he said.
Biologists don't know why the male and female split up only four days after release from the Campbell Blue pen but hope they'll pair again once the female is in heat.
Wolves generally breed in February, with pups born about three months later.
The latest wolves released were paired for a much shorter time than those released last year. "The males already had experience in the wild and they were both surviving well, hunting successfully." he said. The aim was to get the pairs to bond and release them as rapidly as possible, he added.
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/4news01-05.htm