Necropsy Results

According to a necropsy performed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, it was determined that Mexican Gray Wolf #563 died as a result of "blunt trauma- vehicular collision."

"Based on the history and gross pathological findings, it is our opinion, this wolf died of injuries sustained from a collision/impact with a solid structure, such as a vehicle. The observed fractures and hemorrhaging are typical of this type of trauma. The absence of either gross pathological findings suggestive of a wound path or radiographic evidence of bullet fragments indicates the wolf was not gunshot."

The laboratorys findings are consistent with the evidence gathered at the scene of the wolf mortality. On March 21, the wolfs body was sighted lying alongside highway 191 by a passing motorist. The remaining members of her pack are free-ranging in the Apache National Forest in Arizona.