Update courtesy Patrick C. Valentino of the Julian Wolf Preserve

November 16, 1998

     Apologies to our users for the lack of recent field updates. The field team has been extremely busy dealing with other issues. Please see the recent press releases posted on our web site for more information. http://ifw2es.fws.gov/wolf/wolfnews/

     The three Hawks Nest males have been traveling separately since November 3rd. Female #127 has not been observed, and it appears that the yearling males may be beginning to disperse. It is normal for dispersal to intensify in autumn months.

     Yearling male #532 was shot and killed by an unknown person after he dispersed from his pack. Field personnel found him on November 7. The wolf’s body was shipped to the USFWS Forensics Laboratory in Ashland. Wolf #493 was also apparently shot, although final confirmation regarding cause of death is not yet available from the necropsy. With the recent confirmation that Campbell Blue female #174 was also shot, rather than killed by a mountain lion, this brings the number of wolves killed since August to three, and leaves only three free-ranging males. The unnecessary loss of these animals is especially unfortunate because they had all been adapting and surviving independently in the wild, none had attacked livestock, and the Campbell Blue pair might have successfully reared the first wild-born pup if its mother had not been killed.

     Law enforcement officials from all cooperating agencies are investigating the deaths of these wolves. The Service is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killers. Private organizations and individuals are also offering a reward.

     The field team plans to move two 21/2 year old females from the Ladder Ranch Captive Management Facility into acclimation pens on the Apache Forest on Monday. We hope that the presence of the females in the pens withing the males territory will attract the males and increase the chances of bonding when the females are released. If the bonding is successful, the females will benefit in their adaptation to the wild by the hunting and survival skills of the males.
http://ifw2es.fws.gov/wolf/wolfnews/