Mexican wolves in New Mexico have been killing livestock at family homes and ranches again. Over the weekend this young mule was brutally run down and gutted by a pack of wolves. Needless to say this has gone on long enough. This pack needs to be shot or otherwise permanently removed.
Wolf/Pets Interaction
Proximity is the problem. Mexican wolf encounters with children impacted on the rise.
In December the program issued it’s first lethal control order after a female wolf with a long track record of livestock depredations and human habitation was found circling a private home at regular intervals where small children were exposed to her close presence. The same wolf had birthed a litter of hybrid pups the prior spring and FWS are still on the lookout for the one Mexican wolf hybrid that got away. They haven’t found it presumably it will add to the genetic mix that is the rare Mexican wolf. The remarkable thing about this control action is the fact that despite dozens of human safety encounters since the beginning of the program many of which involved their attraction to children, this was the first time the agency admitted lethal control was warranted for human safety reasons.
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- Middle Fork wolves slip into ranch HQ and are captured by game camera.
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- One very big Mexican wolf or Mexican wolf hybrid.
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- Head down stalk mode.
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- Checking out the craying babies.
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- Slipping around the buildings
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- Looking for a handout
The encounters with wolves did not end after AF 1105 was removed from the picture. Despite the claims from radical environmental organizations that the wolf was merely lonely and only needed to find a male. They also claimed that there weren’t enough male wolves in the wild for her to mate with, The next three encounters at homes and highways were with male wolves looking for a mate in the same region as AF 1105.
The photo’s in the attached gallery show these animals are clearly in the vicinity of people and they are also in the area where pairing with AF 1105 was possible and feasible. Instead, they appear more interested in easy prey or a handout at a home than pairing with a female that was making herself readily available for another breeding with a ranch dog. It makes a reasonable person wonder what these big males are breeding with since they showed little interest in AF 1105 possibly coyotes it is possible as the canine DNA is nearly identical subject to family markers.
The photo’s on the highway of the large male wolf occurred when the same young mother in the AF 1105 home invasion incident stopped alongside the road to allow her 4 year old some fresh air after she was carsick. The 2 year old child still strapped in the car seat became impatient and began crying and this animal stepped out of the woods and approached the woman and her children. She was able to put the sick child back in the car and get herself in the car with about 20 feet between herself and this enormous animal. But the fact is, this wolf was intent on stalking her, and her children were calling it into the scene with their normal if distressed behavior.
These are her words. Words that will be torn apart by extremist activists who do not live among and often have never even seen these animals outside of a zoo.
Crystal’s Wolf Encounter
Saturday January 28, 2012
I was traveling east on Hwy 59 with my 2 young daughters in the car when my oldest, who frequently gets carsick, demanded a quick roadside stop. I pulled over just east of Poverty Creek and removed her from the vehicle. We walked around for several minutes so Cayden could get some fresh air after being sick on the shoulder of the road. The drivers door and back door were wide open. My 2 year old daughter, Reece, remained in the car crying hysterically to be removed from her car seat. After about a 5-6 minute stop, I loaded Cayden back in the car. I then walked around the back of the vehicle & towards my door when I saw a wolf standing in the middle of the road within 20 feet of my open car door. I ran to jump in my car & shut the door. The wolf, who had been standing still then walked up to the drivers side of my vehicle and stood a moment. Reece was still crying loudly. Using the camera feature on my phone I was able to capture several photos of the fearless behavior of this uncollared wolf. He’d pace in front of my vehicle from one side to the other, again and again. After watching each other for about 6-7 long minutes, the wolf seemed to tire of us and began to trot off to the south. As soon as I’d put the car in gear & move forward a few feet- it would quickly stop & curiously trot back to the car (the 2nd time he walked off, noticed movement, then returns to the road was captured on video recording). The standoff had now lasted roughly 12-15 minutes. Needing to get on my way, I slowly drove off. Leaving him sitting on the roadside shoulder, exactly where my 3 year old daughter had been sick just minutes before. This is the 2nd time in just over one month that a wolf has come within feet of my children.Crystal Runyan Diamond
Beaverhead Ranch
Crystal Diamond has suffered an unbelievable amount of slander in the local news media simply because she is in proximity of the expanding Mexican wolf population. The activists who have repeatedly attempted to destroy her credibility and reputation have deliberately avoided the factual reports on the situation that are available to them. Instead they choose to blame and attack a mom over the death of a problem habituated aggressive wolf.
The message is that this wolf was special, this wolf was presumably more special than Crystal’s small children and their safety and their freedom to exercise their rights on their own land at at their own home.
This wolf is not special. Genetically this wolf was redundant to the population of Mexican wolves, which include over 400 in captivity. Only genetically redundant wolves are legally allowed to be used in the releases on federal lands in AZ and NM dozens exactly like her exist in captivity ready to enhance the breeding pool.
It is disturbing that we are now seeing a trend from government agency personnel working within the program to promote the extremist notion that wolves on the ground are genetically special and cannot be removed or controlled. This is contrary to all scientific and policy documents and is merely evidence that not only are there close ties to the most extreme environmental advocates for wolves in the southwest. But Fish and Wildlife Service also appear to be coordinating media and strategy with those same organizations.
The behavior of the wolf population the Federal agencies in charge of it, as well as the radical wolf advocates is such that local governments in counties that contain wolves are examining their options to protect human safety in events such as those that occurred at Beaverhead and along Highway 59 and other nearby rural homes and communities. Human health and safety is something that the agencies themselves are supposed to uphold over any policy that they have concerning wolf increase but with the large number of incidents involving children in the area the counties feel they must be ready to step in and do the job the federal government is somewhat lackadaisical about doing. We don’t know what will happen if Catron county kills a wolf in a constituents yard but the majority of the small population in the county are supportive, desperately so, of the idea. It is also important to note that Crystal Diamond is certainly not the only mother in tri-county Grant, Sierra, Catron area that has had serious encounters with wolves and is forced to deal with them on a regular basis. In 2007 Mary Miller and her husband Mark were forced to witness their 8 year old running from a wolf attack on a family dog attack that occurred immediately adjacent to the child. In 2005 Carlie Gatlin was forced to walk home from a wreaked vehicle with two small children and a concussion and was followed by Luna pack their tracks overlapped hers in the snow. Her son was bleeding from a head injury her daughter was small enough to be carried. These are far from all the incidents recorded. Deliberate habituation of Mexican wolves by agency managers has ruined many of the wolves for wild behavior, making them extremely dangerous.
Megan Richardson who lives with the habituated livestock killing middle fork pack coming into her home at regular intervals has to wonder if the sounds her small baby son makes, draws them even closer. The wolves can seen in the Game camera photo’s coming into her driveway, she puts it bluntly. “Is it going to take someone getting seriously hurt before something is done?”
2011 Mexican Wolf Program Management Incidents Reports. Catron Co.
2011 complaint/investigation Results:
Wolf-Animal Incidents;
confirmed wolf depredations – cattle=23, horse colt=1,
probable wolf depredations – cattle= 2
injuries wolf confirmed – cattle=5
Wolf Related Incidences=total 31
unknown cattle deaths =13; includes not found in time to investigate,
lost evidence due to advanced decomposition, scavenging by
canines etc.
confirmed bear depredations – cattle=3
shipping sickness- cattle=1
Young Family Held Hostage by Mexican Grey Wolf
Here’s The Moos…. For Immediate Release / December 17, 2011
From the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association
P.O. Box 7517 / Albuquerque, New Mexico 87194
For further information, contact: Caren Cowan
505.263.2015 phone / nmcga@nmagriculture.org email
Young Family Held Hostage by Mexican Grey Wolf
Crystal Diamond, who lives on the family ranch near Beaverhead, spent 24 hours indoors with her two daughters, ages two and three, with a collared Mexican Grey Wolf on her front porch and in her yard, before the wolf was controlled by Wildlife Serivces personnel. (Crystal has written a detailed timeline of events, see below.)
“There is no excuse for putting a young woman and her two small children in such a dangerous situation,” said Rex Wilson, New Mexico Cattle Growers Association (NMCGA) President, Carrizozo. “Our citizens should be able to rely on their government for protection, not be held captive in their homes by a government sponsored predator. As a father and taxpayer, I am outraged.”
According to Diamond, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) personnel were aware that the wolf was in the area, but made the decision not to stay and monitor the situation, Wilson said. “These people knew the wolf was there, knew that its presence placed families, livestock and pets that could be in danger, yet chose to go home. Crystal was fortunate that a neighbor came by and helped her with this situation, which easily could have turned into a tragedy.”
The NMCGA has long opposed the wolf reintroduction program for many reasons, not the least of which is the burden placed on residents of southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. The New Mexico Game Commission has withdrawn New Mexico’s participation in any facet of the program. Arizona’s Game Commission opposes any new wolf releases until proper recovery planning and environmental impact statements are complete. The rumor is that the White Mountain Apache Tribe has withdrawn their participation, as well.
“The economy of southwestern New Mexico has been decimated, ranching, hunting and outfitting businesses are struggling to survive, people can no longer feel safe in their own homes, and for what?,” Wilson asked. “There is still not a viable population of the Mexican Grey Wolf, and timetable for establishing one. We need to put an end to this huge waste of time, money and effort now.”
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Collared Wolf at Beaverhead
Crystal Diamond’s Encounter
Tuesday December 13, 2011
I returned home to Beaverhead after being gone for several days with my 2 young daughters, Cayden (age 3) and Reece (age 2). My husband was away from home and scheduled to return Thursday. On the drive back I had passed my father-in-law who informed me that a wolf had been sighted at our Beaverhead Headquarters earlier that morning in the horse corrals & harassing our peacocks. The wolf had been chased away.
Arriving at Beaverhead, I drove up to the main headquarters to speak with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) representatives already there. They stated that they were aware of the wolf sighting and would return in the morning. I drove directly to my home, reversing my truck up to the front porch. I unloaded both of my children from their car seats and placed them on the front porch which runs the entire length of my house. I began unloading groceries and luggage from the bed of my truck walking in and out of the house with the front door wide open. The dogs played rambunctiously around my vehicle and around the yard. I gave little attention to the commotion of the dogs and continued to unload my truck. My daughters were still outside when I walked back out my open front door to see my neighbor speeding up my driveway hollering out his window. He yelled for me to take the girls inside while pointing to the dogs who were roughhousing with a collared wolf no farther than 35 feet from my 2 year old daughter. I grabbed my girls and ran inside slamming the door behind us. My neighbor asked for a rifle to haze the wolf and took off running in its direction. Within minutes I heard a gunshot. I waited about 15 minutes before locking the children in the house and walking up over the hillside to locate my neighbor. I was yelling for him as loud as I could. Topping out over the hill approximately 100 yards from the house – I saw the wolf stopped and staring about 50 yards in front of me. Screaming, I ran as fast as I could back to the house. Apparently, as my neighbor ran up over the hill to haze the wolf she had circled back around, beating him back to the house. It was soon completely dark & we were unable to see any further than the glow of my porch lights. My neighbor instructed me to remain inside the house with my children and dogs and not to open the door at anytime during the night.
My overhead porch light, two motion lights, and a brightly lit holiday porch decoration were left on. Most of the inside lights were on, including our Christmas tree in the front window. Music played as the girls ran around the house up until bath time at 6:30 p.m. I had just placed them in the tub and walked directly to the recliner in the living room just feet from the front window. I was on the telephone when I looked over my shoulder to see the wolf staring back at me . . . her nose pressed against the window pane. I jumped up and stepped away from the window. She remained at the window watching me for just the few seconds before I ran out of the living room into the bathroom where my children were. I called my husband on his cell phone who at this time was on his way home. Throughout the evening my male border collie whimpered at the front door aggressively trying to get out. Both dogs paced the house on high alert all night. At my husband’s request, my neighbor returned to my house. He sat on my front porch with nothing but a blanket, camera, & gun in freezing temperatures until midnight when my husband returned home. At that time, they noted all the tracks on and around the front porch and attempted to preserve several tracks by placing bowls and cans over the prints. Preserving all the tracks would be impossible, as fresh snowfall began to cover the ground.
Wednesday December 14, 2011
Our neighbor returned to our house around 7:30am. Together with my husband, they went to take photographs of the wolf tracks they’d tried to preserve the night before. New wolf tracks in fresh snow were everywhere – all around the children’s play yard in the back of the house, leading up to and on the front porch, in the front yard, and in the driveway. Based of the location of tracks, they determined the wolf spent most of the night within 50 yards of the house.
USFWS, Catron County wolf investigator, and Catron County Commissioner all arrived around 8:00am. Using tracking devises, the wolf was determined to be with a quarter mile of the house. I was assured that the wolf would be removed.
Pressure from heavier-than-normal vehicle traffic and people on the ground, had pushed her as far as two miles from our house throughout the day.
Later that evening, the wolf was returning to our home and was put down by Wildlife Services. She was euthanized on private property 150 yards from my house. I was notified by Wildlife Service Officers that the wolf had been removed and would no longer pose a threat to me or my children. Words cannot express my overwhelming sense relief when I received the news.
My daughters and I had literally been held prisoner in our own home for over 24 hours. It’s difficult to describe the terror of a predator so fearless and eager to get in my home. My responsibility as a mother is to keep my children safe at all times. For a period of time, that God- Given Right was stripped away. The thought of “what might have been” consumes my every thought.
Thank you to USFWS for resolving this issue in a quick and effective manner. Thanks for the swift action of Wildlife Services and the professionalism of their officers. And most of all, thank you to a neighbor who placed the safety of my children above his own. Without his watchful eye, the events of my story may have very easily had an unforgivably tragic ending.
Protecting pets: Wolf killed after attacking family dogs near Hamilton
Jason and Sarah Ekin’s 5-year-old son loves to roam around their yard catching butterflies.
In her oversized white sunglasses, their 3-year-old daughter often makes a beeline from the front door to the backyard where the couple’s three hunting dogs lounge.
But the Ekins say they will think twice before letting their kids wander around their home on the edge of Hamilton after last Saturday morning.
The couple was abruptly awakened shortly after 5 a.m. that day when their dogs let out a terrified bark.
“The sound just exploded from our backyard,” Sarah said. “It sounded like they thought their lives were going to come to an end.”
A moment later, they heard one of the dogs begin to yelp.
“I could tell that one of them was being hurt,” Jason said. “I didn’t know what was going on.”
They peered out a large window and spotted the shape of a large black dog standing a few yards away from one of the dog houses.
“I told my wife that I thought it was a wolf,” Jason said. “I told her to go get the gun. When I lifted the shade, he started to leave.”
Jason went out onto the second story deck with his rifle. At first, he thought the wolf had left, but minutes later it reappeared and walked to within 12 feet of the dog’s house and stared inside at the 70-pound Walker hound.
“That wolf had to know that I was there, but he just didn’t seem to care,” Jason said. “It looked to me that he had come back to finish the job.”
When the wolf turned broadside to him, Jason shot it.
The wolf flipped over once before falling dead on a patch of grass now stained reddish-brown. It died 34 yards from the couple’s deck.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Lou Royce said the shooting was justified.
“Under state and federal law, he’s covered,” Royce said. “He was defending his dog’s life.”
One dog was bitten during the wolf attack.
“I definitely could see a bite mark on the side of the dog,” Royce said. “It was obviously hurting a bit.”
The wolf weighed 86 pounds. Royce said it was probably less than 2 years old.
FWP wolf biologist Liz Bradley said the wolf may have been a disperser from another pack.
“This kind of thing can happen any time of year,” Bradley said. “Wolves see dogs as competitors. They are very territorial.”
Royce and Bradley agreed that it is unusual for a wolf to show up in such a residential area so close to town.
The Ekins live on North Canyon Drive, which is just west of Hamilton and less than a mile from the city limits.
“I was surprised at how many houses there were right around their house,” Royce said. “I thought maybe they lived in the trees when I got the call. Their dogs were all chained and near their house. I’ve never handled one exactly like this before.”
On Monday, Sarah was scheduled to babysit three other young children at her home.
“I was terrified about that actually,” she said. “Do I even dare to let them go outside? I think we’ll live in fear for a while before we get comfortable again. It’s just not something that we would expect to have happen here.”
Since Saturday, the couple has received a number of phone calls from neighbors who said they had seen the wolf near their own homes. Some called to report they had lost dogs or cats over the past couple of weeks. Others just wanted to thank Jason for killing the animal.
“I didn’t do this because it was something I wanted to do,” he said. “I did it because I had to do it to protect my dogs.”
Reach reporter Perry Backus at 363-3300 or pbackus@ravallirepublic.com.
State legislators and National leadership should read this document.
Mexican Wolf Recovery Program Pamplet 2
Wolves are killing small communities, livlihoods, game and domestic animals. Make no mistake further government protection is damaging to the environment.
Third Annual Cliff NM Cowboy Dinner and Dance Feb 19, 2011
Please mark your calendars for the third annual Cliff NM Cowboy Dinner and Dance February 19
At the Cliff fair barn. Dinner starts at 6 PM the Delk Band at 8 PM.
Proceeds from the party are being used to fund the legal action by Gila Livestock Growers Association, APWE, Otero Co and Catron Co. New Mexico to force FWS to comply with current wolf management rules as they relate to livestock and human protections.
To donate to the legal fund use the paypal button at the top of this website. The lawsuit is estimated to cost our small organizations around 80 thousand dollars. We are in the beginning stages and although we have been holding fundraisers for some time, only our first two were highly successful in terms of financial intake. We are competing against the unlimited resourses of the federal government and the US Justice Department as well as Environmental Extremists who have access to taxpayer money to sue the government to regulate us out of business using the Equal Access to Justice Funds. Please consider assisting us in protecting rural people in their own communities from these constant attacks that undermine the stability of rural lifestyles and business opportunities.
State Taking Action Against Aggressive Wolves
Thu, December 9, 2010
Posted in Alaska News
Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage
The Alaska Peninsula community of Port Heiden has been struggling with aggressive wolves for the past several months. Pets have been killed and the wolves are not easily run off. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, wildlife division supervisor Bruce Dale says the state has decided it’s become a public safety issue. He says they will take action similar to last spring when wolves killed a teacher 50 miles across the peninsula in Chignik Lake.
Dale says it’s unlikely that the wolves bothering Port Heiden residents are from the same pack that was responsible for the Chignik Lake killing. In that incident, state hunters killed eight wolves. Dale says they haven’t yet determined how many wolves will have to be shot because accounts vary as to how many are in the area. He says it’s rare for North American wolves to be as aggressive as the Peninsula wolves have been.
He says several factors may be contributing to the wolves’ behavior. A substantial number of the northern Alaska Peninsula caribou herd winter close to Port Heiden, marine mammal carcasses wash up in the area and wolves feed on them and Dale says it’s also where wolves hunt sea otters on the ice.
Dale says the fact that Port Heiden villagers have killed six wolves since August and others were not deterred was part of what led to the decision to kill more.
Dale says pilots will back track wolves to locate those involved in the village incidents. Weather and snow conditions will determine when the wolves will be taken.
Wolves a worry in New Mexico
http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/tag/page-a12/page/26/
Wolves a worry in New Mexico
Thursday, December 7th, 2006
Encounters with Mexican gray wolves are cause for concern for some New Mexico residents.
Some residents in southwestern New Mexico are worried about encounters between children and endangered Mexican gray wolves that have been reintroduced along the New Mexico-Arizona border.
J.C. Nelson, 14, encountered three wolves while on a hunting trip with his father.
In another instance, a wolf attacked and injured a family dog while a young girl was nearby.
John Morgart, wolf recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and a member of the interagency team reintroducing the wolves, said an investigation into Nelson’s case found the animals were not out to attack.
“The wolves showed no signs of aggression and just appeared curious,” he said. “They looked him over and moved on, and that was it.”
Joe Nelson and his son were hunting south of Reserve in October when the teen came across the three wolves.
One stayed in front while the other two circled around.
The animals came within 20 to 30 feet and left after five to 10 minutes.
The teen had a rifle but was worried he would get in trouble if he shot an endangered animal, the elder Nelson said.
Morgart said it sounded as if the boy kept his cool.
The state Game and Fish Department tried to re-create the incident with the Luna Pack, the wolves suspected to have been involved.
Morgart said the animals ran when investigators got within 50 yards of them.
“We take any reports of these kinds of things seriously,” Morgart said.
Nelson said that the agencies didn’t help.
Carlie Gatlin, whose husband manages a ranch in the area, said a family dog was killed by a wolf near their house about two months ago.
“I don’t let the kids go outside unless they have two-way radios,” she said. “I’ve heard of a lot more encounters going on.”