The alpha female of the Fox Mountain Pack will be spared a death sentence but is being sent to The Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center, where she will live in captivity separated from her four pups, who will be left with their father, the alpha male. This will put tremendous pressure on him to hunt and find food for his growing family without his mate by his side. Will the pack even survive without their matriarch?
No doubt your phone calls and emails, along with other wolf advocates, decrying the impending kill order on this critically endangered wolf, was the turning point that led to the compromise. A big thank you to everyone who spoke out but I feel tremendous sadness that a successful and important breeding female will be removed from the wild. The ranchers won because there will be one less Mexican gray wolf roaming free. This mother will never see her pups again. She will spend the rest of her life in captivity and that is not what we want for these animals. But the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center did come to her rescue and we should all be grateful for that. Still the victory is bitter-sweet.
The USFWS must demand the BLM retire grazing leases in the wolf recovery area, to give these animals a fighting chance!!
===
Scottsdale wildlife center saves Mexican Gray Wolf from death sentence
Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center
Mexican Gray Wolf
A Mexican Gray Wolf that lives at Scottsdale’s Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center.
The Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale has saved an alpha female Mexican Gray Wolf that federal fish and wildlife officials had planned to kill.
The mother wolf of four pups was to be shot after killing cattle in New Mexico, but Southwest Wildlife stepped in and offered the wolf a permanent home. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to the arrangement.
According to a news release from Southwest Wildlife, at last official count, there were only 58 Mexican Gray Wolves in the wild, making them one of the most endangered mammals in North America.
On Saturday, the Tribune received numerous letters from people in the Southwest pleading for the wolf to be saved.
The wolf is the alpha female of the Fox Mountain Pack in southwestern New Mexico, and has four puppies. Federal wildlife personnel are attempting to capture her, and Southwest Wildlife staff is awaiting word of whether she has been safely captured.
The puppies will not be taken from the pack, as they will be cared for by their father, Linda Searles, founder and executive director of Southwest Wildlife, said in the release.
On Thursday, federal Fish and Wildlife officials signed an order to shoot the wolf, which was accused of killing too many cows. This is the first time since 2007 that the agency planned to kill a wolf because of predatory attacks on livestock. The rancher who lost the cattle has been compensated, the release said.
Southwest Wildlife serves as a holding facility for the federal Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program.
“We’re happy we could find a solution to this situation, other than killing the animal, because there are so few of these wolves left,” Searles said. “We will continue to work with Fish and Wildlife through the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program to maintain the species, which is an important part of our ecosystem and our Western heritage.”
The Nina Mason Pulliam Foundation will provide funds to construct an enclosure for the female wolf, but donations will also be needed to help Southwest Wildlife provide care. As part of the center, the wolf will help educate children and other visitors about the role different mammals play in our ecosystem and the importance of preserving endangered species.
For more information about Southwest Wildlife, visit http://southwestwildlife.org/.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/the_valley/article_8c748ae6-e41b-11e1-b793-001a4bcf887a.html
===
Photo: Mexican Gray Wolf USFWS
Posted in: Mexican Gray Wolf, Wolf Wars
Tags: Fox Mountain alpha female, Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center, motherless pups, wild to captive, death order rescinded, Mexican gray wolves, USFWS
Boulder White Clouds Council
Exposing The Big Game
Footloose Montana
Friends of the Clearwater
Lockwood Animal Rescue Center
Louise du Toit
LUPUSLAETUS
Mercy For Animals
Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance (NIWA)
Predator Friendly®- Because Wildlife Matters
Project Coyote
Project: Wolf
The Nature Conservancy
The Ravensong Group
WildEarth Guardians
Wisconsin Wildlife Ethic-Vote Our Wildlife
Wolf And Wildlife Studies: Jay Mallonee (Independent Wolf Biologist)
Wolf Song of Alaska
Wolves in english ! Les loups en anglais !
WWP's Gray Wolf Page
Yellowstone To Yukon Conservation Initiative
Howling For Justice 
Unortunately the ranchers always win since they have the most money. The pups will probably not live nor will the alpha male without her so we have lose six wolves in the wild. What I don’t understand is why our voices mean so little??? And the hunting seasons get longer and more vicious means to kill wolves are legalized. Whatever happened to “we the people”???????????
LikeLike
Nabeki, this is a lousy outcome but better than having her killed in front of her pups. I have done volunteer work at a wolf sanctuary and it is painful that the wolves are held prisoner for their own safety. I have been able to love them and hug them but they should be free. Yes, stupid cattle grazing in wolf country needs to end. And that is going to happen… But US and state wildlife policy is not yet ready to do the right thing in defending and protecting wolves eventhough a majority of Americans are ready. We’ll just have to keep working to change wildlife policy in the states and in the federal bureaucracy. We’ll make those changes happen for wolves and all our native wildlife.
LikeLike
I agree Robert that life is definitely a better outcome then death but for this wolf mother, to go from a wild life to a captive one, never to see her family again and to live forever in an enclosure, no matter how well she’s cared for is a sad, sad outcome. She will never know or understand it.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
LikeLike
Nabeki, it is completely maddening and heartbreaking to think of this wolf mom and her pups being torn from each other. And both the mom and her pups and her mate and her pack will have no idea why this is happening to them. And the mom had to deal with all this while being imprisoned, away from her freedom in her homeland. It is so hard to even write this, let alone think compassionately about these innocent and beautiful beings, their feelings and the sadness of it all. The US has some of the most humane people in the world and some of the worst animal abusers the world has ever known. We are a truly f’ed up country, where cruelty, brutality and injustice towards native wildlife still has the upper hand. And that is so heartbreaking it is almost too much to bear. We must work much harder and get much stronger to change this unacceptable situation and create the better country our native wildlife and we who love them deserve.
LikeLike
I know the ranchers and others in the Gila country. I started my work with wolves in the Gila in the 1990s. The Gila ranchers are lazy and corrupt welfare ranchers, just like the rest of them in the West. I exposed their brutality in my book, Wolfsong: A Natural and Fabulous History of Wolves. The alleged Mexican Wolf “recovery” is an abject failure. In my investigation (funded by grants, including one from the National Science Foundation), I researched human attitudes towards wolf recovery in the Four Corners, Mogollon and Grand Canyon ecosystems.A far safer and better place for Mexican wolves in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The brutality of the Gila ranchers, especially the Catron county gangs and their Castilla neighbors ( the Castilla are descendants of the monstrous conquistadores) will ensure that there will never be wolf recovery in the Mogollon country. To separate the mother from her cubs and mate is also wrong–all should be relocated, even if it means living together in Scottsdale. USFWS once again makes a half-right decision–but only due to public pressure. So pressure them about saving the rest of nthe family. Otherwise, they will all die–and she might die of grief and loneliness. In my opionion, all Mexican wolves in the Gila and Mogollon countyry should be relocated to the North Rim to save them from human brutality, New Mexican idiocy and USFWS incompetence.
LikeLike
WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF WOLFSONG BOOK? AVAILABLE IN LIBRARY? thank you for reply.
LikeLike
Sam,
That is Dr. Catherine.
N.
LikeLike
Raven, thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom with us. What officials, which people, should we be contacting to have the best chance of helping these Mexican grey wolves as you suggest? Please email me thru my on-line wolf petition, Protect America’s Wolves! Here’s a petition link: http://signon.org/sign/protect-americas-wolves?source=s.em.cr&r_by=4078013&mailing_id=5161
If you will provide this information to us, to me, ASAP I will send out an Action email to my over 4,000 petition signers. Hope to hear from you!
LikeLike
I think you said it all Catherine. This is what we’re dealing with when it comes to wolves, whether it’s the Northern Rockies, the Great Lakes, The Southwest and now Washington state, the land of the oh so progressive wolf plan has just shot it’s first wolf for livestock depredation. So here we go.
We need a complete and total change, top down. It doesn’t matter if it’s Democrat or Republican, they’re all in bed together. Cowboy Ken just announced he wants to delist Yellowstone grizzlies by 2014. Hopefully Obama will be defeated and Salazar will be out but the alternative looks just as bleak with the pick of Paul Ryan, an avid trophy hunter. Just great. grrrrrr
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
LikeLike
I dont trust them at all. Obama re introduced Horse Slaughter, Salazar and BLM wipe out our wildlife. Romney tied his dog to the roof of his car and Ryan is a blood sporter. None of them will help animals unless there is massive public outcry and refusal to vote
LikeLike
Admittedly, I don’t think we have much of a choice in November as far as the environment and wildlife are concerned. But I think it will be so much worse if Romney and now Ryan come in to power. How these people can seriously suggest dismantling programs like the EPA is beyond me, and how their supporters can accept that is even more unbelievable.
Obama is a very people-oriented president to his great credit, but I fear he only sees the environment and wildlife as how it can benefit people, such as in recreation programs, and not as something with a right to exist unspoiled for future generations. I keep hoping Salazar will resign this term (or be asked to). I don’t want to live in an artificial world where there is nothing but people, cattle and domesticated parks and recreational areas – and the only wildlife in zoos. I can’t believe I’m witnessing such destruction in my own lifetime. It is such a shock to me that this poor wolf has to be protected from mankind, and kept in captivity for her own good. So sad.
LikeLike
Removing this alpha female from the wild, separating her from her mate and pups, may have saved her physical life but for all practical purposes destroyed the spirit within her forever; a gift given her by the Creator of the universe and all things within it!!! Chances are strong that the alpha male and the pack may really have their hands full in trying to keep the pups alive and healthy!!! This reminds me of the massacre at the Sikh temple, the movie theatre massacre in Augora, Co., the Univ. Of Va. mass murders, Columbine HS, and the list goes on. Man will ultimately destroy himself with all of the killing and what man doesn’t eliminate God has promised to!!!
Chief Seattle once wrote that what befalls the animals will in turn befall man AND when all of the animals are gone man will surely die of lonliness of the spirit!!! I’m a believer that this will surely come to pass!!
LikeLike
Chief Seattle once wrote that what befalls the animals will in turn befall man AND when all of the animals are gone man will surely die of lonliness of the spirit!!!
I agree wolfeagle.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
LikeLike
How very sad and typically stupid of the govt. – in bed w/ ranchers why not relocate the whole family? bring them to California – we only have one very lonely Wolf trying to find a mate (of course, this wouldn’t help that part!) now there is no female – what happens? are they all killed by those stupid welfare ranchers? I am sick of paying for those people using public land & killing off all that gets in their way . Brace yourselves IF that republican wins the WH his vp (Ryan) is an avid trophy hunter and from that soon to be another killer state of Wis. he is particularly revolting because he uses bow & arrow (if you can call that horrible looking weapon a bow – looks like it would pierce a tank – must be very painful – although no one cares!)
LikeLike
I saw a Mexican wolf in the White Mountains and was in awe at what a beautiful animal it is…and felt sad knowing that that beautiful animal was a victim in the ongoing war with those that want to see them become but another statistic on the “extinct list”. Such are the perils of living and having livestock in the wilderness; living among bears, lions, wolves, is a chance you take to raise your cattle, sheep or whatever. These same people that are claiming these animals are robbing them of their “livelihood” because they chose to live in that area and raise their meat and probably lease “government” land to sustain these four-legged methane-busting ozone destroyers and “accuse” the wolves to be the killers; maybe need to look beyond the box and see that they are part of what was before and should stay a part of what is now. I have nothing against raising cattle; we did and had problems with coyotes, mountain lions and bob cats, but you didn’t see us trying to eradicate them off the face of the earth; just something you become accustomed to as part of the cycle of life. We didn’t get “compensation”…we didn’t apply for it…I could go on and on, but I think what I’ve said is clear that I believe the wolves are getting the short end of the deal. I love the wolf.
LikeLike
Grace, the thing I most love about Howling for Justice is to read humane and wise comments from good folks like you. Thank you for sharing this post. Check out my on-line wolf defender petition, by googling: Protect America’s Wolves!
LikeLike
Grace, if only all ranchers were like you and your family, but sadly, they are not. Raising cattle in the arid West was and is a monstrous mistake. Please check out and support my wolf defender petition, Protect America’s Wolves! at: http://signon.org/sign/protect-americas-wolves?source=s.em.cr&r_by=4078013&mailing_id=5161
LikeLike
Grace..the wolf/livestock compensation program is the worst thing that ever happened to wolf recovery. It set up a victim mentality for ranchers, they are not reimbursed for kills by other predators, why wolves, who show such tremendous restraint when it comes to livestock. It’s a red herring that ranchers beat us over the head with time and again. I look forward to the day when wolf/rancher or cow are not mentioned in the same sentence. They have us locked into this endless debate about wolves and livestock when it’s common knowledge wolves kill so few livestock. These ranchers lose thousands and thousands of cows every year to non-predation but they aren’t reimbursed for that. I’m so sick of wolf hating ranchers and their drama.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
LikeLike
Nabeki, you are so very right about the lying, thieving ranchers. You know this stuff so well. What a stupid idea to allow non-native cattle into the arid West where they don’t belong. May all the cattle be wiped away from the West, replaced by free roaming native bison. Perhaps the humane and wildlife loving American majority will be able to muster a strong enough voice to get Salazar out of there and replaced by a true advocate for America’s native wildlife.
LikeLike
Non violent direct action is the only hope for the wildlife. I was part of the group called Hunt Saboteurs who not only saved hares, foxes and otters and birds every time the hunt went out, but caused such an outcry that hunting with hounds was banned. Here in US, its a slightly different picture, but same action urgently needed. In the field and in the streets + tons of letters and e.mails. and petitions. It can work. SALAZAR MUST GO EVERYBODY SAY SO! 🙂
LikeLike
Hopefully there are aunts and uncles in the pack. They will hunt when necessary as long as there is someone left to watch over the pups. Eventually, the pups will grow and find their own mates. The one thing that rips my heart out and brings a waterfall of tears running down my cheeks is the mother being ripped from her family, her mate (life long mate) and the separation from her pups.These farmers are barbaric and God willing their lives will be short lived. I hate to wish that on any human, but they are not human. They are cruel, barbaric, slobbering manifestations from some toothless hag that probably created them from a black cauldron! Nobody with even half a heart could treat our American icon so mercilessly. They really need to get it through their heads that God put the wolf here for His reason, and slaughtering, torturing, barbarically murdering them and separating families I sincerely do no believe was in His plan.
LikeLike
There are many parallels with the plight of the mustangs. The cattle folks have created untold misery for those family groupings living heathfully on designated lands that are overburdened by cattle grazing.
I suspect there is a great desire to be rid of all these wild beings and turn our public lands into money making ventures.
LikeLike
Linda thats right. BP will be laying pipelines across the Nevada outback over the dead bodies of foals whose hooves were ripped off in the helicopter chase. Now 50,000 mustangs stand in holding pens waiting for the slaughter bill to go through. We must be fast and loud or wolves will be joining them in extinction. I heard through the back door that BLM plans to make wild horses extinct within 5 years.
LikeLike
What an ugly place America is turning into. Nothing but arrogant, overweight, dumb-and-getting-dumber humans on cell phones and computers and their cattle! Why does the American public stand for this?
LikeLike
American and most of the world are brainwashed to believe that they can’t grow or live without meat.
LikeLike
Ana, I haven’t eaten meat in 14 years and I don’t miss it. If people would just cut down on beef at least that would help. Cattle are a problem not only for wolves but bison and wild horses. They trample native grasses and pollute streams. I”m not blaming the cattle, they are being used and abused. We could help our native wildlife and the poor cattle by giving up or cutting back on eating beef and pork, lamb.etc.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
LikeLike
Exactly, its not the cattles fault, they are abused and murdered too. The only place that the ranchers have feelings is in their pocket, so if one cares about animals, veganism + direct action is the anwer.
LikeLike
Ida..I blame it on the 24 hour news cycle. People are bombarded with hateful and disgusting news and eventually they turn it off and become immune to the violence. The line in the news industry “If it bleeds it leads” is so true. Also we haven’t been able to get our message out of the Northern Rockies due to media bias and only telling one side of the story. Partly it’s because this all happened under a Democrat admin and the media doesn’t want to admit to people that Obama delisted wolves TWICE and the Senate Dems were responsible for delisting wolves via budget rider. So it goes unreported and people are kept in the dark.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
LikeLike
Ida, it’s happened so quickly it’s stunning. Under Bill Clinton we had sane policies and a good Interior Secretary. Now we have a rancher who is hell bent on dismantling the ESA…he’s targeting grizzlies next but that is not a surprise, it’s been their plan all along.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
LikeLike
That’s right Nabeki. Bill Clinton’s Interior Secretary, a former Arizona governor, Bruce Babbitt, also came from a rancher background. BUT he saw the terrible mistake it had been to remove natural predators from the land. He talked about reading Aldo Leopold’s “Sand County Almanac” as a boy and how it helped open his mind to the lonely and silent and unnatural landscape, ignorant and violent Americans had created in the West and elsewhere. When Obama and Salazar began their initiative to de-list wolves three years ago, Babbitt publicly chastised them for misreading the more enlightened, wildlife respecting will of an American majority. What a tragedy for America’s wolves and other native wildlife. We have a democratic president who is ignorant and/or insensitive to re-building a healthy ecology across the West and across America. Somehow we will have to put powerful pressure on Obama to replace Salazar and open his own mind and heart to America’s native wildlife and the vital place they have under the sun. This is so sad beyond belief. No wildlife lover should vote for Romney but on principle I will not vote for Obama either. Please support my Protect America’s Wolves! petition at: http://signon.org/sign/protect-americas-wolves?source=s.em.cr&r_by=4078013&mailing_id=5161
LikeLike
I forgot to add ‘gun-totin’ to the list of ugly American.
LikeLike
Yes Nabeki, our news media is terrible here in the US – the BBC is head and shoulders above our media, I think. If you want real, unbiased news and world news. Our news is entertainment only, and bad entertainment at that – sensationalized and just barely getting the facts correct, and conveying a false sense of security to the masses. It’s more important to sensationalize and get ratings. When profit is your only goal – expect corruption and an inferior product. But don’t let our general public off so easy – we could take more of an interest in less superficial things.
I haven’t eaten beef in years either – I don’t know how many, ten? Ever since the first Mad Cow outbreak – and not because of the disease – because I saw so many, many animals destroyed and I just couldn’t be part of such a thing. Now, when I see other animals such as wolves, wild horses and bison being destroyed for nothing, I am so glad that I don’t contribute to it. I know that there are good and decent people making their livings as ranchers, but the ones that play the system ruin it for everyone.
LikeLike
How very sad that the Alpha female will serve out her years in captivity. And the fate of the Alpha Male and his duty to take care of the young wolves is going to be a difficult one. The pups must wait for their food now, left alone to fend for themselves. Life is certainly not fair for our Wolves – I wish it were.
LikeLike
Bitter sweet. Still don’t understand what wrong with a night ranger for a few months so they would all move on!
LikeLike
All of your comments resonates with me and I am from South Africa. All of you are blessed for feeling the way you do. Ann I specially liked your comment because I also not wanting to, feel murderous towards the human beasts that cause so much mayhem with wild animals. I so wish to always evolve spiritually and LOVE everything and EVERYBODY but how can I love those satanic barbarious repugnant human monsters????????? I ask the Universal Divine Mind to forgive me for the way I feel towards these assassins of such beautiful creations! I am in a dualistic dimension still therefore I cannot help feeling this way. Once we evolve to the next singular dimension then all this will be over. And believe it or not our life as we know it is changing already and shall become more visible in just a couple of months time. Yesterday I prayed so hard for the female gray wolf and I was ecstatic to see her life being spared. Soon very soon she will be reunited with her family. Don’t believe me, just give it a chance such to be true and pray with all of your heart all of you dear brothers and sisters of the Universe. With my Universal Love.Namaste
LikeLike
Vidapreciosa, beautiful thoughts. Thank you.
LikeLike
The violent and satanic power of the cattlemen must be broken. They have brought death and sadness everywhere they go. Their non-native cows will have to be completely removed from the arid West where they never belonged from the start. From beginning to end, cattle ranching is a filthy, sick and vile scheme. In the arid West, non-native cows bring persecution and death to native wildlife and by consuming these poor cows, millions of humans are dying from cancer and heart disease. Cattlemen and cattle women are agents of death.
LikeLike
so right Robert, its all about MacDonalds and Burger King. The Meat Industry destroying the planet. Depriving our wild horses of water so they die of thirst, then rounding them up to extinction. The legal torture and murder of wolves foxes coyotes and bears. Its all part of their evil plan. Hope we can stop them. GO VEGAN.
LikeLike
Ana, after a lifetime of eating cows, I stopped doing it two and a half years ago. Pigs, too. I’ve always liked pigs as smart and interesting living beings and just don’t want to eat an animal I prefer to admire. I simply will not support abuse of innocent animals in horrifying concentration camps so that I can brainlessly and heartlessly eat them. And free ranging non-native cows in the arid West, while killing all of America’s native and ecologically vital, natural predators, just so I can have a burger is not acceptable to me in any way. Ana, please check out and support my wolf defender petition, Protect America’s Wolves! at: http://signon.org/sign/protect-americas-wolves?source=s.em.cr&r_by=4078013&mailing_id=5161
LikeLike
signed Robert ❤
LikeLike
Why not Spay her & return her to her pups & her mate?
LikeLike
Ruth, spaying an endangered Mexican gray wolf is a solution the cattlemen would propose. I assume you suggested that innocently but it is not a good solution for an ecologically vital and beautiful female alpha wolf that belongs on the land, healthy and whole, with her pups and her pack living free.
LikeLike
Death or a life of captive hell. what a choice. Why TF cant they just leave our wildlife alone. We must DEMAND an end to this crap.
LikeLike
Hard to know for sure what to think. I wish the pups could have gone with her. As for life in captivity, life in the wild can be horrible now too: guns, bows and arrows, traps, and snares waiting. The history of wolves in this country is full of sadistic and brutal deaths. The people capable of such savagery degrade this planet by their presence.
LikeLike
I agree, I’m not thrilled about her being taken away from her pack – but it is better than having some sadistic b***tard kill her in some vile and evil manner, whether through the Feds or someone else. The ranchers need to take some responsbility for their own herd by staying out of the recovery area, but that would be too logical and makes too much sense. No wolves need to be killed in order for ranchers to run a profitable business. I guess they think they can do whatever they want with impunity, and guess what, they pretty much can because they have been allowed to. But, cattle loss is part of the cost of doing business, and now with drought, price of feed skyrocketing, etc. and they will either get a gov’t handout or reduce the heard and sell off their cattle. As our population continues to rise, so will the amount of cattle being raised and the land needed to raise them.
Maybe we can all petition for the Alpha female’s freedom someday. Thank you to the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center.
LikeLike
I understand, at least she is alive and attention has been brought to this victory.
LikeLike
^^When the “political landscape” is a little more friendly. I look forward to that day. That should read “reduce the herd” in my post above.
LikeLike
Will there ever be a day when the USF&W, BLM and the DOI work for “we the people” and not the ranchers, farmers, hunters, etc? Wolves were not meant to be held in enclosures even though I know what the alternative is. Still in all, I’m not happy.
LikeLike
BLM=Bloody Lying Murderers. Salazar=Beealzebub.
LikeLike
Though I find the thought of killing any creature to be barbaric, but what scares me more is the fact that she was “accused” of killing cattle. Never proven to be the one. I smell a scam in the Wildlife “Management” programs. Wheres the proof? wheres the evidence? Show me the smoking gun and prove that this wolf did that. Then I would believe them.
LikeLike
even if she did it, its natural for her. Its not natural for humans to breed cattle by the billions, then murder them in Hitler style concentration camps. They removed her cos she is an alpha female and a good breeder. May they rot in hell and burn forever. They will beg God to kill them, but they wont be able to die.
LikeLike
Dwayne, good points. How do these lying hateful ranchers know this alpha female killed even a single cow?? And if she did, big deal!! Ranchers lose tens of thousands of holy cows to weather, disease and from poison plants every year. Predation is minimal, predation by wolves so minimal, it is a non-factor. So IF a few wolves got a few cattle over a four month period… big freakin deal! This alpha female deserves to live free with her pups, her mate and her pack. Let the lying hateful rancher ba–ards hire a range rider with the federal welfare money we give them. If they refuse to live with wolves and other native wildlife, they must be forced to remove their cows from wolf country. For now, this mom needs to be with her family. Perhaps Raven’s idea to move all Mexican grey wolves to the Grand Canyon’s North Rim is a good solution for now. This mom must be free with her pups, her mate, her pack, her wild brethren.
LikeLike
You said it perfectly Robert. This is really a travesty, the poor wolf will never know why she is being locked up and apparently they’ve been chasing her all over the place to capture her. How terrible for her pups. Aside from saving her life I don’t see this as a good outcome. The feds have failed utterly to establish a viable population of Mexican gray wolves, which was supposed to happen by 2006, yet there are barely fifty wolves in the wild. The three strikes rule was shut down just a few short years ago. The government was killing these critically endangered animals to please ranchers and the wolves were even baited to entice them to kill a cow. This was done by an employee of the Adobe/Slash ranch, who graze their cattle all over the wolves’ recovery area. The ranch is owned by a Mexican businessman, his grazing leases should have been retired years ago. It’s no wonder the wolves aren’t making much progress, the ranchers won’t leave them alone. They were handed tracking telemetry for the wolves collars when the program started and nobody knows where all those devices are or who has them. Just a year or so back Mexican grays were being poached from different packs and I believe their numbers dropped below thirty animals.
The wolf/livestock drama is a red herring, wolves are amazingly tolerant when it comes to livestock and cow losses to wolves are so tiny they can barely be measured, certainly not making a dent in the bottom line of ranchers, especially since they are reimbursed for any wolf predation. The livestock industry uses this boo-hoo tactic to garner sympathy when they lose tens of thousands of cows every year to non-predation. And of course cattle are slaughtered by having a punch shoved into their brains and end up on someones dinner plate. The cows are lucky if they are rendered unconscious before they are strung up and cut to pieces, many are still alive during that horrific process.
As for the the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, I’ve been saying this for years. There’s plenty of mule deer and NO RANCHERS but the USFWS will not open another wolf recovery area. I see no point in releasing wolves into the wild only to have them shot or in this case, sent to captivity. The North Rim would be perfect for wolves but that would be too sensible.
I hope this is a wake up call for all wolf and wildlife advocates that we’ve had enough of this nonsense. We need to take control of the conversation and stop letting hunters and ranchers dictate policy.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
LikeLike
right on sis Nabeki. They only do it cos they can! The people are allowing it to happen.
LikeLike
Nabeki, thank you again for providing this space us for us to gather and share and act to turn this thing around for wolves… and for our side. Is it possible to email you privately without compromising your privacy? You can email me thru my wolf petition.
LikeLike
It is so sad that the thieves who stole this land from the Native American and the natural wildlife of this area years ago are still allowed to go on killing and stealing America’s precious natural resources based solely on their needs. The rancher’s rights to use this land should be completely recinded and the land be returned to the use God intended for it, the support of the wolf population along with all the other wildlife there. The cattle are the interlopers along with the rancher and his gun, not the wildlife. What gave these people the right to think they should be in control of this world, just because they came along a 100 years ago and stole it from nature? My heart aches for this beautiful mother wolf and her family that will be unnaturally separated from each other. Man seems to carry nothing but death and destruction when he enters a place and takes charge of it. Nature can and does strike back at these interlopers through disease and other natural disasters to their cattle very often directly connected to the removal of the very animals they are blaming for ‘too much killing of their cattle,’
Living in a cage is not what nature or God intended for this beautiful creature, but it is preferable to her execution. I am happy she will live, I am NOT happy about the conditions she will be allowed to live under. Change is definately needed in our laws.
LikeLike
the ranchers are full of sh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the wolfs should be alive with their families and babies. they blaming the wolves for all, its not that way this is sad to separated the mother from her kids..this should never happen
LikeLike
Dr. Catherine said it best ” ranchers are lazy & corrupt” most of them anyways. They are a bunch of whiners. More cattle die from disease than wolf kills. They are wolf haters to the core – – – I’ve seen it first hand in the state of Idaho. They are just hell bent on NO wolves anywhere. They do not read or listen to science …… so you can’t even talk to them.
We have our own shit going on here – Wi. will hunt wolves 24/7 with packs of dogs. Thanks to the Bear Hunters Assoc. & their lawyers for that bill going down. The problem here is that – just like in WI. we have people in charge who don’t give a rat’s ass about wildlife or conservation. All around the U.S. they NEED to be VOTED OUT!!!
ANother issue is $$$$$ – it always seems that liberals or tree huggers
(what ever you want to be called) never have enough of the green.
Look @ who supports the so called hunters – NRA (huge amounts of cash – I mean HUGE) Safari Club, or as I like to call it the Sadistic Club, these f_cking org. have money. What to do. ?????
LikeLike
Yes, they are the rich and powerful but…. David killed Goliath with a sling and a stone. Slavery was abolished due to public outcry. We can win this if we unite and fight it.
LikeLike
Sandra…we are working behind the scenes on a wolf project. This fight is not over.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
LikeLike
I can’t wait ti hear what it is. Looking forward to it!
When will this barrage of killing be over. I’m just so disgusted with our country @ this point I want to leave it. I really thought that people were better than what they (hunters & politicians) have shown. But, I have learned that that man WILL extinct himself – he’s just to G.D. greedy & heartless.
LikeLike
Right now would be a good time to stir up a ruckus and keep going at it.Obama wants to help the farmer and rancher because of the drought.I am so tired of helping them out,even in good times they need help.There are some ranchers/farmers that try to be co-exist with nature but they are few and far between and will suffer the crop loss but it is a business.These people scorn welfare recipents but they are sure there with their hands open when it comes to hand outs.I am tired of keeping their family tradition going while others have lost theirs.
LikeLike
Correct Rita K. Me too. The sad conditions, especially on dairy farms and egg producers where cruelty is commonplace. They wont get my money. Last year Konklin Dairy in Ohio was exposed by undercover filming. Only one worker was prosecuted. They were seen breaking calves legs, punching and kicking cows. I know that this treatment is not unusual.
LikeLike
Very well said Rita!!
For the wolves, For the Fox Mountain Mother,
Nabeki
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Collision of Worlds and commented:
This is tragic and cruel!
LikeLike
One thing to consider; the alpha female represents a “biological bank” if you will. So preserving her in the event of the loss of another female is a Good Thing. The BLM etc did something that may turn out to be a positive. She’s alive, and if necessary can be used to produce more pups. One has to remember: this wolf represents a very small genetically unique sub-species of wolves. And losing one should be prevented. This wasn’t the best possible outcome, but I think theres still hope.
LikeLike
I agree that its better that she is alive, but disagree that tampering with them at all is a good thing. If people would leave them the heck alone, there would be no need for breeding programmes.
LikeLike
I just got off the phone after a long talk with a USFWS staffer in New Mexico who was actually a decent guy, though I am always ready to dislike all of them. He stated that the alpha female’s mate is her first cousin, which obviously is not the best match genetically. The pups are between four and four and a half months old and will be reared by their father and a yearling. He agreed with me that ideally they should bf kept together. Capturing the entire family could result in some pup deaths. According to him, the pups have been weaned and no longer need her milk. She has not been captured yet. He also stated that USFWS will likely have a new wolf recovery plan in place by year’s end with new areas for wolf recovery. Also, USFWS has about 300 wolves in captivity with three distinct genetic lines. I hope this female will returned to the wild and somehow be re-united with her pups sooner than later. Having her alive makes that a possibility, along with the possibility she could breed again. I am just passing on what he shared. I did tell him that in Obama’s second term (Romney & Ryan will likely lose big) I hope he’ll have a new boss at USFWS who respects, defends and protects America’s wolves and all our native wildlife.
LikeLike
One thing amazed me when I first came to USA, was the vastness of wilderness with smallish pockets of populations. Why is there not enough space to just leave them alone. Not interferring with their genetics or anything. IMHO thats just an excuse for genocide as with the wild horses being gelded ( without anesthetic ) and mares give PZP birth control.
LikeLike
Myrna, I agree with you. As I stated in my post, I was sharing what the USFWS staffer told me. I told him that I wanted the mom to remain free with her pups and pack. He claimed that six cattle have been taken in about 14 months… I told him “so what… big deal” etc. He claimed that 3 or 4 were on private land. He also said the grazing areas in question are mainly on US Forest Service land and that Pres. Obama could, if he wanted to, remove cattle grazing from these wolf recovery zones. They are supposed to be wolf recovery zones! What are cows even doing there! We have to put more determined and pressure on Obama and our US Reps and Senators to make them do exactly that.
LikeLike
yes, Pressure on!
LikeLike
feeling sad at the stress of her capture (
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing Robert. I’m so glad to hear she is still free. I’ve been told it’s going to be very hard to capture her without causing injury to other pack members trying to protect the pups and her. Also the drought probably weakened the cows in question who may have been on their way out anyway. Wolves kill so few livestock that to take such draconian measures as removing a breeding female from the wild shows the unfairness of the situation. Ranchers, as you know, lose tens of thousands of cows every year to non-predation but of course they don’t get reimbursed for that. As soon as a wolf looks sideways at a cow it’s national news. These ranchers should be put in their place and have their grazing leases retired. Let them use their own land to graze their cattle. The public grazing land belongs to the American people and we don’t want our wolves killed for a few cows.
I think we can do this and I hope Congressman Heinrich finds a solution soon. We just need to keep calling and emailing.
For the wolves, For the Fox Mountain Mother,
Nabeki
LikeLike
This is not a good solution, but at least she will not be killed until a better soution is found.
LikeLike
I may have missed it, but will she have room to run, a shady area, other wolves to keep her company? Right now I’m so upset, I can’t say much more, other than I feel sick.
LikeLike
I am glad she is safe, but this bothers me. They take her away from her pups and leave them with the male creating a hardship on the male and putting the pups in danger. The male must hunt for the pups. What’s their point? To let the pups die. Or to have an excuse to kill the male so the pups will starve. Do they think we are stupid???!?
LikeLike
Yeah Kaylynn. we can see through their masks.
________________________________
LikeLike
It never ends, the animals always lose 😦
LikeLike
I am so relieved that the USFWS has decided not to kill this female Mexican wolf. Hopefully the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center will take good care of her. We must thank them (Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center) for saving this beautiful wolf’s life!
LikeLike