Wolf known for genetic value found dead in New Mexico
Environmentalists are pushing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to do more to protect Mexican gray wolves after one of the endangered predators was found dead in southwestern New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Environmentalists are pushing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to do more to protect Mexican gray wolves after one of the endangered predators was found dead in southwestern New Mexico.
The Western Watersheds Project is among the groups that have been critical of the agency's management of wolves in New Mexico and Arizona, saying illegal killings continue to hamper the population. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service says there have been fewer wolves found dead this year than in previous years.
The agency also pointed to a revised recovery plan for the wolf that was released in early October. The agency was under a court order to revamp the plan to address the threat of human-caused mortality as one of the ways to increase survivability for wolves in the wild.
Federal officials said they could not provide any details about the circumstances of the latest death since it was an ongoing investigation. It's rare that such investigations are ever closed.
