An animal seen north of Grand Canyon on Oct 27, 2014.(Photo: Arizona Game and Fish Department)
From the Earth First! Newswire:
It happened again. After thrilling the hearts of everyone in the country by showing up around the Grand Canyon, an endangered gray wolf was shot by a hunter.
In Kentuky, the first gray wolf seen in 150 years was shot dead last August. Last March, a wolf was shot in Missouri. Earlier this year, a farmer shot and killed a wolf in Washington State, and in North Carolina, 10 endangered red wolves have been shot in the last year.
Though the killing in Utah is not unique, what is shocking is the lack of care that the officials at the Arizona Game and Fish Department showed. Going so far as to suggest that the wolf was planted in the state by “radicalized environmental monkey wrenchers,” federal officials saw the wolf as a threat to be put down—as an instrument of wilderness advocates who wanted to protect the area under endangered species habitat, not as a precious animal and important facet to the bioregion.
It is possible that this wolf, a female, is likely the same one shot seen in November after traveling 500 miles from the Northen Rockies. She will be remembered.
Long-wandering Endangered Female Wolf Shot in Utah
Location Suggests May Be Same Wolf Spotted on North Rim of Grand Canyon
From the Center for Biological Diversity:
BEAVER, Utah — A federally protected radio-collared female gray wolf, possibly the same wolf photographed this fall on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, was shot and killed Sunday in Utah after reportedly being mistaken for a coyote. The identity of the wolf is likely to be determined in the coming days or weeks.
The Grand Canyon wolf, named “Echo” in a children’s naming contest this month that drew hundreds of contestants from around the globe, was confirmed through genetic analysis to be a female originating from the northern Rocky Mountains, at least 450 miles away.
“It’s heartbreaking that another far-wandering wolf has been cut down with a fatal gunshot,” said Michael Robinson with the Center for Biological Diversity. “This female wolf could have helped wolves naturally recover in remote regions of Utah and neighboring states. Federal authorities need to conduct a full investigation into this latest killing, which is part of a disturbing pattern.”
Dozens of wolves that dispersed far from their home territories seeking mates have been killed in recent years, often by people claiming to have mistaken the animal for a coyote. Coyotes, which are common and aren’t federally protected, are smaller than wolves, and display a more pointed snout and ears, whereas wolves appear bulkier and with markedly longer legs and a bushier tail.
Wolves are an endangered species in Utah, but the Justice Department has systematically failed to enforce the Endangered Species Act in respect to illegal shootings of animals supposedly mistaken for unprotected wildlife species; notwithstanding that a fundamental rule of firearm and hunter safety is never to pull the trigger without being 100 percent sure of the target.
“Wolves in Utah deserve real, on-the-ground protection,” said Robinson. “That means, first, keeping them on the endangered species list; second, spreading the word about their presence as an endangered species; third, prosecuting those who kill them; and finally, developing a science-based recovery plan so that instead of one or two lone and vulnerable wolves, Utah and the West will eventually boast hundreds more wolves to stave off extinction and help keep ecosystems in healthy balance.”
Last month the Center released a first-of-its-kind analysis that identified 359,000 square miles of additional habitat for gray wolves in 19 of the lower 48 states that could significantly boost the nation’s 40-year wolf recovery efforts. The study indicated the gray wolf population could be doubled to around 10,000 by expanding recovery into areas researchers have identified as excellent habitat in the Northeast, West Coast and southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the Grand Canyon, the area where a radio-collared wolf was photographed in October.
The report documented 56 instances over 30 years where wolves have dispersed from existing core recovery areas to states where they have yet to reestablish, including Colorado, Utah, California, New York, Massachusetts and Maine. These events, which frequently ended in the dispersing wolves being shot, highlight the need for continued federal protections and recovery planning to increase the odds for dispersing wolves to survive and recolonize former terrain. The most famous dispersing wolf, OR-7, traveled hundreds of miles from northeast Oregon to California and has started a family along the border of the two states.
Southwest Earth First! 