TAKE ACTION: Keep The Fox Mountain Alpha Female Wild…

Mexican Gray Wolf Pups (Lobos of the Southwest)

UPDATE: August 14, 2012

As of today I’m hearing the alpha female of the Fox Mountain Pack is still free.  The concern is are they laying leg hold traps to catch her? This would be a dangerous situation for her  pups or other members of the pack. We don’t need any of the wolves sustaining leg injuries.  I sincerely hope this is not the case and that a solution is being devised to keep this important breeding female wild.  Please keep your phone calls and emails coming.

The following callous statement by “Officials” was reported in the Albuquerque Journal on August 13th, 2012.

‘Calls to Service spokesmen were not returned, but officials have said the wolf is of low genetic value to its species and constitutes a risk to cattle owners.”

That’s the mindset we’re dealing with, pathetic. How about this is a critically endangered wolf mother and CATTLE CONSTITUTE A THREAT TO HER SURVIVAL Get cows out of the wolf recovery area. Retire grazing leases!

Every Mexican gray wolf is important to the recovery of the species!

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We were all relieved to hear the kill order on the Fox Mountain alpha female had been rescinded but disturbed she would be separated from her pups and spend the rest of her life in captivity, never to see her family again.  This is not acceptable. Without this mother present, the Fox Mountain pack could disband leaving the pups orphaned or worse.  It’s not uncommon for this to happen when one of the alphas is lost, either by death or capture. It will put tremendous pressure on the alpha male to keep  his growing family fed.  Wolves are highly social animals so you can imagine how they will react to the loss of their matriarch.

Please keep the phone calls and emails coming. The important contacts  are listed below,  provided by WildEarth Guardians.

Tell them to keep this mother wild and remove the cows from the den site vicinity.  Grazing leases must be retired in the wolves recovery area  to give these animals a fighting chance.

Just a few short years ago wild Mexican gray wolf numbers dropped to dangerous levels due to poaching. Their numbers have climbed back up to an anemic fifty plus but still far below the recovery goal that was  promised by 2006. Here we are six years later still fighting the same forces that want to  stop Mexican gray wolf recovery dead in its tracks. If the pack disbands, the loss will be immeasurable. These wolves are the most endangered animal in North America. Removing a successful breeding female from the wild, over a few cows, is egregious.

FROM WILDEARTH GUARDIANS

Please call the White House, New Mexico Senators Udall and Bingaman, and New Mexico Congressional Representatives Luján and Heinrich now to keep the Fox Mountain mother wolf in the wild, and demand that cattle be restricted from the pack’s den area.

White House (202) 456-1111

Senator Tom Udall (202) 224-6621, (505) 988-6511 or (505) 346-6791

Senator Jeff Bingaman (202) 224-5521 or 1-800-443-8658

Congressman Ben Ray Luján (505) 984-8950 or (202) 225-6190

Congressman Martin Heinrich (505) 346-6781 or (202) 225-6316

Please politely tell them:

• The Fox Mountain pups need their mother and to be left unmolested in the wild of the Apache National Forest. Like any youngster who loses their mother, those pups will suffer, and the mother will suffer in captivity. Removing members from a pack causes trauma for all the pack’s members, and can even cause packs to disband, studies show.

• Fewer than 60 Mexican wolves roam the wild, and the Fox Mountain pack contains one of only six breeding pairs identified. Removing this wolf is biologically harmful and a huge waste of taxpayer money.

• The livestock owner has been compensated for his losses.

• Livestock owners within the territory of the Fox Mountain pack should immediately either temporarily remove all livestock from the vicinity of the pups’ den, or use electric fencing or herders to manage cattle by day, and barns and corrals to secure the animals at night.

http://wg.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=9201.0

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Let’s work to keep this wolf mother wild to raise her puppies, lead her family and continue to  contribute to the important recovery of Mexican gray wolves!!

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This video was taken  in the late seventies. It’s believed to be one of the last wild Mexican gray wolves “captured from northern Mexico before the species went extinct in the wild.”  Click here to read more.

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Photo: Courtesy Lobos of the Southwest

Video: You Tube Courtesy  ricklobello 

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Mexican Gray Wolf

Tags: Mexican gray wolf alpha female, Fox Mountain Pack, New Mexico, USFWS, retire grazing leases,  keep her wild, take action