Wolf sightings becoming more common in area (Silver City, NM)
from the Silver City Daily Press Orignal Story
by MARY ALICE MURPHY
Reports of wolf sightings near or in towns in the region seem to be occurring with increasing freÂquency.
A woman in the Lake Roberts area, who wished to remain anonyÂmous, reported that one day last week she looked up and saw three wolves within 100 feet of her office window.
“I have asked Game and Fish to come and educate people how to live with wolves,’ she said, “but so far, they haven’t. I could have believed in the wolf recovery proÂgram, but I don’t now. I don’t know how it completes the ecosystem if wolves eat my dogs, eat my cats or kill my horses.’
She said she lived in Canada where the wolves were wild and didn’t exhibit the habituated behavÂior of the Mexican gray wolves.
“What I saw was not small or diÂminutive,’ the resident said. “They were much larger than a German shepherd.’
Because she had been informed that Female No. 1040 had been determined by the wolf recovery program’s telemetry to be within five miles of Lake Roberts, she said, her first instinct was that it was the female traveling with two uncollared wolves.
“I believe it was a prey test to find out if there was food in the area,’ she said. “Fortunately, my dogs were inside the house. I’ve also heard howling in the area. I don’t want to be middle-of-theÂroad anymore. I’m not getting paid for the time I have to take off to deal with it.’
She said she believes public safety should be paramount.
“I have the right to be safe, esÂpecially on my own property,’ she said. “I felt I lost that last week.’
A Grant County resident reÂported seeing two full-grown uncollared wolves cross U.S. 180 about 11 p.m. Saturday. They were coming out of Santa Clara toward Fort Bayard, he said.
“They were probably within 20 yards of my vehicle, one right behind the other,’ he said. “They stood out well against the wet pavement.’
Last Thursday, at the Glenwood School, students were not allowed to go to recess in the afternoon afÂter a neighbor called and asked the teacher, Terry Tackman, to keep the children inside.
Tracks from a large animal, confirmed as a wolf by Jess Carey, Catron County wolf investigator, were within 17 yards of playÂground equipment.
“Our teacher handled the situation well,’ Loren Cushman, Reserve School District superinÂtendent, said. “The school’s take is that we will do whatever it takes to protect our children.’
Shelters have been constructed around several bus stops to keep the children safe from predators and protected from the weather, according to Cushman.
“We want to be cautious and not paranoid,’ Cushman said.
Tackman said she and her husÂband, Alan, have seen a pair of wolves on their ranch, but she had not seen one near the school before.
“It was a precaution to keep everyone inside,’ she said. “I also meet the bus every morning and walk the students out every day.’
She said she no longer takes her dogs when she goes horseback ridÂing and the horses are kept inside.
“People who want the program don’t live with it,’ Tackman said. “I’m an animal lover, but we don’t need more predators. Coming up to school yards is not (the behavior of) a wild animal.’
It was reported that the animal was uncollared.
“Speaking as a mom, just the anger of someone threatening my kids by putting wild creatures in an area where they could be killed is undescribable,’ Carolyn Nelson said. “My son goes to Glenwood Elementary School.’
She said the school does not have a chain-link fence.
“We need one,’ Nelson said. “Where’s the money going to come from?’
The school will probably have to foot the bill, she said.
“That doesn’t affect the people who are for the wolf,’ Nelson said. “The economic impacts trickle down to the counties and cities, too, because we pay tax on every head of cattle and fewer cattle equals fewer tax dollars.’
She said her side is the “mom’s side. Coyotes come into yards and eat our cats. Who’s to say it won’t be wolves next?’
Several years ago, her husband, Joe, came upon a cow and calf that were being attacked by wolves. Because the calf was already dead, he put it in a tree while he rode to a phone to call wolf recovery program authorities to report it.
“When he came back, there was not a remnant of the calf left,’ Nelson said. “They got it out of the tree. If it were one of our kids, we wouldn’t find a remnant. Having a life threatened by a wolf, where’s the sense?’
Forest Guardians and Sinapu, two environmental organizations, have asked a federal district court judge to prevent any further attempts by Catron County to trap wolves until the groups’ lawÂsuit challenging the county’s wolf ordinance is decided. The suit was filed in July, claiming the Catron County Commission has unconstituÂtionally authorized itself to remove Mexican gray wolves from their recovery zone in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
A press release from Melissa Hailey, Forest Guardians staff attorney, said the preliminary injuncÂtion was sought because of the county’s latest threats to trap Alpha Male No. 973 on Nov. 9.
“We had hoped that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife SerÂvice would put an end to the Catron County wolf hunt,’ Hailey said. “When the government neglected to file charges knowing they were going after this important alÂpha male wolf, it became our obligation to act. We simply cannot afford another wolf lost from the wild.’
She said the plan to trap the wolf was thwarted beÂcause he and his pack are missing.
Although Fish and WildÂlife has not confirmed these wolves as dead, the agency has picked up no signal from their radio collars in about two weeks, the release stated. Whatever the cause of these wolves’ disappearance, Forest Guardians’ statement said, it is certain that Catron County’s trapping campaign will not end with the DuÂrango Pack.
Bill Aymar, Catron CounÂty manager, said the county had not been informed of the disappearance of the pack.
“It’s pretty obvious to us that we are being kept out of the loop,’ Aymar said. “We had asked Fish and Wildlife to remove Alpha Female 924 earlier in the year. But they didn’t, and she killed more cattle, so they had to kill her. Every time their inaction puts the wolf in danger of being lethally taken, that’s an exÂpense to the taxpayers.’
He said he had already sent letters requesting that AM973, Female No. 1046 and their pup be removed.
“Now they have disapÂpeared. Why?’ Aymar asked. “They didn’t remove them and they disappeared in a cloud of one-thousand-dollar bills.’
He reported that several counties in the wolf recovÂery area, as well as those outside the area that may in the future be impacted by the wolf recovery program, have requested copies of Catron County’s ordinance.
“If it’s upheld in court, we’ll have numerous ordiÂnances all over the state,’ Aymar said. “We have the ordinance because we can’t wait until a wolf bites, atÂtacks or kills a kid.’
—MARY ALICE MURPHY
December 7th, 2007 at 7:04 am
[...] Wolf sightings becoming more common in area (Silver City, NM)By adminThe suit was filed in July, claiming the Catron County Commission has unconstitutionally authorized itself to remove Mexican gray wolves from their recovery zone in violation of the Endangered Species Act. …Wolf Crossing - http://wolfcrossing.org [...]
December 10th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Wolves are becoming more brazen everywhere we look. It is highly suspicious that un-collared animals are being seen in communities, these are wild-born pups and have never been collared, or more important vaccinates for RABIES! Why are they in communities? Because the habitat is full; it no longer exists; there is not enough prey and they are hungry. take your pick the fact remains Dave Parsons author of the rule we now live under and currently employed by Dave Foreman of the Wildlands project and golden boy of the albuquerque journal WAS WRONG! He told all of us this stuff would NOT happen why is he still allowed to set policy and still deemed credible by the Journal? After all the Mexican Wolf program FIRED him for a reason and that reason is now at the doors of our communities.
December 10th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
oncebitten? Are you an idiot? Wolves aren’t born with rabies! It has been shown by behavioral experts that Wolves will generally not attack a human unless provoked or under dire situations. Why do you think the habitat no longer exists? Because your precious cows are eating up all the territory that belongs to them. They are being forced out into your communities by none other than yourself. If you have a problem with it, help to restore their habitat by enclosing your damn cows and allow nature to run itself instead of trying to take control of it. You are subject to it’s whims, not the other way around. You have a lot to learn about being a human.
December 10th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Idiot is a person that does nto live with these habituated wolves on a daily basis. Have you lost sleep? Have you picked up dead pets? Have you had your children threatened? Have you been chased home? Have you had wolf poop on your porch? Have you had a wolf in your yard? Have you been kept awake with howling? Have you lost money or time due to the wolves in your yard? Have you ever had to cancel work for the whole day to deal with 3 or 4 goverment agencies to deal with wovles in your yard? Have you taken pictures of tracks? Have you seen elk spree killed? Have you seen deer in your yard looking for protection?
NO because if you did you would not be such an idiot and force your political beleifs on me.
You live in another country yet you want to force us how to live. If you think this is living please come here and try it yourself. Please come and put in the time an energy it takes to live with habituated contantly in your backyard wolves.
Until you do you are the idiot and you do not understand the danger or how you have been misled by the wolf propaganda pill you have swallowed.
As for rabies…rabies is spred animal to animal. If their are infected animals they can spred it to unaffected and unvacinated animals. We have had that happen here. Ever been around a rabid animal? If so you would know better having had rabies shots.
My yard is not the wolves territory nor is our community. Is yours? If you think so lets ship the wolves to you and you can have the same issues we do and answer silly people such as your self that have drank way too much koolaid.
I do not own cows … sounds like you really hate cows. Why cows provide great fertilizer for my organic farm. Also great fertilizer for trees and grass in the woods. The grasses do better by being grazed. Please read the gardeners of eden. You need to learn so much more about the land and grasses for a start. Get educated and cut back on the koolaid.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Thats so funny blaming cattle for the ruination of the habitat, all these spoiled enviro types and their sports programs that are making them filthy rich, like skiing, mountain biking, mountain climbing, classic and ski skating. funny, how they all crap in the forest and trample everything, and carve new trails for their use, meanwhile blame cattle with false evidence appearing real ( FEAR). Funny how we still have great habitat all over the Western States of America after cattle have been destroying it for over 150 years, All those horse pack trips Ive taken, and back pack trips, over 20,000 miles in Idaho’s and Wyoming’s Wilderness areas, and Im still seeking these damaged and ruined watersheds I keep hearing of, These lying deciples of the Watersheds groups run by the Communist John Marvel. Lets go walk up some of the trails sometime to peaks like K2, or Everest and look at the dead bodys and crap piles left by these peoples hero’s. Maybe if these fools actually spent some time in the woods instead of listening to Al full of Baloney Gore giving his useless Invironment speeches at the rate of $3300.00 per minute they would recognize when they are being lied too. Fools, the cattle these ELITES want removed from these lands is the HUMAN cattle, including their very foolish and duped following of childish supporters.
December 14th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I have never really thought about myself being an idiot drfiresign. My reference to wild born pups was not to say that they were born carrying rabies. It was in reference to the fact that if they are not captured and collared as this wolf at the school apparently never was, we must assume it is a wildborn and therefore unvaccinated animal. Not 4 miles away last summer a rabid fox bit a hiker in the same area, there have been numerous incidents of rabies since that happened.
I do not see where I am in the least idiotic to be concerned that in a community where there is a documented rabies outbreak, a wolf is hanging around kids at a schoolyard. Especially dangerous is the fact that the wolf has never been vaccinated for rabies.
Yep guess I am over-reacting in your mind, but then you probably live somewhere safe and warm and don’t have to deal with this reality. Congratulations to you.
As to your comments about our cattle keeping wolves out of their land. You probably don’t earn a living from the land and obviously you have swallowed the line that cattle are bad for the environment. Sadly though you are wrong, the wolves are not being chased into communities by cattle, they are attracted to communities and areas with cattle and pretty much ignoring the wilderness areas that have no cattle and are considered pristine.
December 17th, 2007 at 7:02 am
[...] Lake Roberts resident even had 3 wolves in their backyard staring in the window from a slight incline at distance of 100ft and two weeks later one wolf was seen above the horse [...]
December 17th, 2007 at 7:02 am
[...] Lake Roberts resident even had 3 wolves in their backyard staring in the window from a slight incline at distance of 100ft and two weeks later one wolf was seen above the horse [...]