FLAGSTAFF, AZ — federally protected women mexican wolf The animal was found dead in an area near the northern Arizona city of Flagstaff, alarming environmentalists who fear someone may have killed it intentionally.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department announced in a joint statement Friday that the animal, known to biologists as Mexican wolf F2979, was found dead on Nov. 7. established boundaries Along the Arizona-New Mexico border, we manage North America’s rarest gray wolf subspecies.
Officials did not release the cause of death, other than to say it was “not related to the administrative actions of government agencies.” Rewards of up to $103,500 were promised from state and federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals for information “leading to prosecution in this case,” the statement said.
Cindy Tuell, director of the Western Watersheds Project in Arizona and New Mexico, said in a statement that if someone intentionally kills a wolf, those responsible will be held “accountable to the full extent of federal and state law.” It should be done.”
The Mexican gray wolf is protected under the Endangered Species Act. Killing a Mexican wolf can result in criminal penalties of up to $50,000 and/or up to one year in prison, seizure of firearms, vehicles, and buildings involved in the crime, and civil penalties of up to $25,000.
In a joint announcement, state and federal agencies say a female wolf will be recorded for the first time outside the government-designated “Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area” north of Interstate 40 near Flagstaff in early summer 2024. said that it was done.
The animal was captured, fitted with a GPS collar, and released back into the wild in July. DNA analysis revealed that the female was traveling alone with another wolf, leaving behind a pack known as the Tu Dill Hill Pack in a designated population area.
Efforts were underway to capture the two and bring them back to the area. The whereabouts of the other wolf are unknown.
Federal regulations require the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove all Mexican wolves roaming north of Interstate 40, even if they are not causing a nuisance or loss. Ranchers in New Mexico and Arizona have long complained that wolves are responsible for the deaths of dozens of livestock each year, and are concerned about the animals’ range expanding.
Mexican gray wolves were first reintroduced into the southwestern United States a quarter of a century ago. After a slow start, that number has grown to more than 250 in Arizona and New Mexico in recent years.
