One of the best known and best loved wolves in the Mexican wolf recovery program died early this morning, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced. The alpha female of the Francisco Pack, F511, overheated during a routine capture and check-up. Despite immediate veterinary care and follow-up treatment, she died sometime later.
F511 was at the Wolf Management Facility at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, New Mexico with her four pups, her mate, M904 and her yearling male, M919. None of the other wolves experienced any complications and their health appears to be good. The Service expects the two males to step into the role of caregiver for the four pups.
his is a sad loss as this female has been such an integral part of our program to reintroduce the wolf back into its native lands," said Dale Hall, Director of the Services Southwest Region. "Her picture has been used repeatedly for posters, brochures and other outreach materials and she quickly became recognized as the symbol for Mexican wolf recovery."
The Francisco pack was brought into captivity per standard operating procedures this summer because of multiple cattle depredations.
511 was born in 1997 at the Wolf Management Facility at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. She was one of the first wolves reintroduced into the wild in Arizona in 1998 with her parents as part of the Campbell Blue Pack. She whelped pups seven times over the course of her life and was the most successful breeder in the wild population. Several of her offspring continue to range free in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area.
Since 1998, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services, and White Mountain Apache Tribe have been involved in reintroducing the Mexican wolf to areas of Arizona and New Mexico.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
-http://southwest.fws.gov-
