https://www.fws.gov/press-rele...death-near-flagstaff



Press Release

Federal and State Officials Seek Assistance in Investigation of Mexican Wolf Death Near Flagstaff, Arizona

Nov 15, 2024
Media Contacts
Aislinn Maestas

A federally protected Mexican wolf was found dead northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona on November 7, 2024. Female Mexican wolf 2979 (F2979) was found dead in the vicinity of Forest Service Road 2058 and East Spring Valley Road. The incident is under investigation, and a reward of up to $103,500 is available for information that leads to successful prosecution in the case. No additional details about the cause of death are being shared at this time, except that the mortality was not related to agency management actions.

Mexican wolf F2979 was first documented outside the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA) north of Interstate 40 near Flagstaff in early summer 2024. She was captured, affixed with a GPS collar, and released back into the wild in July. DNA analysis revealed that she had dispersed from the Tu Dil Hil pack in the MWEPA. F2979 was seen travelling with another Mexican wolf in the area, and efforts to capture the pair and translocate them back to the MWEPA were initiated in October. These efforts were ongoing when F2979 was found dead. The fate of the other Mexican wolf seen with F2979 is unknown.

The Service is offering a reward of up to $50,000, the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief is offering a reward of up to $1,000, and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the death of the Mexican wolf. A variety of non-governmental organizations and private individuals have pledged additional funding for a total reward amount of up to $51,500, depending on the information provided.

Anyone with information on individuals in the area where the wolf was found, or information they believe may be helpful, are urged to call U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agents in Pinetop, Arizona at (346) 254-0515. Killing a Mexican wolf is a violation of state law and the Federal Endangered Species Act and can result in criminal penalties of up to $50,000, and/or not more than one year in jail, and/or a civil penalty of up to $25,000

Who knows if there was more then one involved.

https://biologicaldiversity.or...2MjgxLjE3MjY1MTk5MTc.


For Immediate Release, November 15, 2024

Contact:

Cyndi Tuell, Western Watersheds Project, (520) 272-2454, cyndi@westernwatersheds.org
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter, (602) 999-5790, sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org
Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, TMcKinnon@biologicaldiversity.org
Claire Musser, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, (928) 202-1325, claire@gcwolfrecovery.org

$100,000 Reward Offered for Info on Arizona Death of Mexican Wolf

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department today announced that Hope, a Mexican gray wolf living west of Flagstaff since at least June, was found dead on Nov. 7 in the vicinity of Forest Service Road 2058 and East Spring Valley Road. Agencies and nonprofits are offering a combined $103,500 in rewards for information leading to a conviction in the case.

No other details of Hope’s death were released and the incident is under investigation.

“Hope was a sentient individual being and a messenger of the changes needed in the Mexican gray wolf recovery program,” said Claire Musser, executive director at Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “The territory she claimed north of Interstate 40 and outside of the official recovery area demonstrated that suitable and appropriate Mexican wolf habitat exists in northern Arizona. The federal and state agencies should be listening to what she had to say and allow wolves to become active agents in their recovery.”

“In every photo we saw of Hope, her collar was plainly visible. If she was shot, the shooter had to know she wasn’t a coyote,” said Cyndi Tuell, Arizona and New Mexico director at Western Watersheds Project. “If someone killed Hope, the full weight of the federal and state law should be brought to bear against the person or persons who took her away from our human community which found inspiration and joy in her existence, and from the non-human community that depends upon top predators to bring balance to the landscape.”

According to the announcement of Hope’s death, DNA analysis revealed she had dispersed from the Tu Dil Hil pack in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area. Hope was seen traveling with another Mexican wolf, known as Mystery. Mystery’s fate is unknown.

Wolves like Hope and the Kendrick Peak pack had broad public support from the people in northern Arizona and beyond. In 2021 the city of Flagstaff passed a resolution supporting Mexican gray wolf recovery in northern Arizona to restore the natural balance of the land and for the economic benefits from wolf-related tourism. Scientists have recommended that additional subpopulations be included in the recovery plan for Mexican gray wolves, including the Grand Canyon ecoregion and the southern Rockies of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.

“If the investigation into Hope’s death reveals that a person killed her, we expect the Arizona Game and Fish Department to advocate for justice for Hope,” said Sandy Bahr, director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “When someone poaches an elk or kills the wrong species of deer, the Arizona Game and Fish Department immediately seeks help from the public to solve the crime and when the perpetrator is identified, the department takes action. They have a trust responsibility for all of Arizona’s wildlife. We expect them to uphold that responsibility for Hope.”

“Hope embodied the dreams of so many here in Flagstaff, including the school children who named her, that wolves can return and restore natural balance to the Grand Canyon region,” said Taylor McKinnon, Southwest director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Anyone with information about this senseless death should report it so our elk-filled forests can once again thrive with the wolves who belong here.”

Mexican gray wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Killing a Mexican wolf is illegal and can result in jail time and fines. Anyone with information can call U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents in Pinetop, Arizona, at (346) 254-0515; or the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief at (800) 352-0700; or the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish’s Operation Game Thief at (800) 432-4263.

What a joke. They have a murder a night in Albuquerque and no $100K reward. Stunning how distorted some peoples values have become.

quote:

Originally posted by squeezenhope:
What a joke. They have a murder a night in Albuquerque and no $100K reward. Stunning how distorted some peoples values have become.

+1

a wolf wandered out of it's designated area with another Wolf.
Gee I wonder what they were doing.


the shocked faces must be running rampant down to the agency..

quote:

Originally posted by squeezenhope:
What a joke. They have a murder a night in Albuquerque and no $100K reward. Stunning how distorted some peoples values have become.

When you become a pagan.

Mother earth is far more important then human life.

Pagan cultures are well known for killing humans to appease mother earth.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Originally posted by squeezenhope:
What a joke. They have a murder a night in Albuquerque and no $100K reward. Stunning how distorted some peoples values have become.

When you become a pagan.

Mother earth is far more important then human life.

Pagan cultures are well known for killing humans to appease mother earth.

Well, the wolf was an illegal…just saying.

Thats one guy and his buddy/ies
I hope they never catch.

More of this needs done imo.

George

quote:

Thats one guy and his buddy/ies
I hope they never catch

If it is one guy unless he talks.

They will not catch him.

If he had buddies along they might cough him up for the money.

The old saying the only way two people keep a Secret. Is if one of them is dead.

Holds a lot of truth.