Federal Agency Removes Mexican Gray Wolf Blamed in Livestock Kills

by Jake Frederico, Arizona Republic

An endangered Mexican gray wolf has been killed in New Mexico by federal employees, according to a document released by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS).

The kill order was issued by the agency on March 29 after the wolf’s alleged involvement in the killings of at least 13 cattle. The wolf was killed April 12.

The wolf was a part of the Mangas pack that roams western New Mexico near the Arizona state line.

The FWS issued the kill order after 13 livestock carcasses were found on public and private land. The agency document says the deaths were associated with the Mangas pack, which consists of six wolves, including three pups, one sub-adult, and two adults. Three of the remaining wolves are radio-collared. The authorization only called for the lethal removal of one wolf to ensure radio-collared wolves remain in the pack.

The order, regardless of the results of removal efforts, says an interagency field team should continue to monitor the wolves, maintain the diversionary food cache, “haze” wolves following the completion of removal activities, and coordinate with livestock producers in the area on future management actions to reduce the likelihood of additional livestock deaths.

According to the USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, the Mangas pack has engaged in a “chronic series of depredations” over a period of 10 months, with eight occurring in the last two months.