Posts
WOLVES IN ARIZONA 2014 UPDATE
No, that "wolf" you saw in
South Mountain Park, Phoenix was probably a coyote. This is an easy assumption
because Arizona wolves are rare and live in remote areas far from cities.
Hunted to near extinction in the last century, reintroduction of Mexican Grey Wolves into east-central Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests began in 1998. Since then, the
population has grown to 13 packs consisting
of 46 animals with functional radio collars and 5 single wolves.
Both revered and reviled, the beasts roam mainly in the Blue Range
Primitive Area near the New Mexico border. The recovery area
includes many terrific White Mountains hiking trails and although
wolves are generally not a threat to people, it's a good idea to know
where the packs roam and how to handle an encounter. Back in 2006, I
was lucky enough to spot a wolf while hiking in the Blue. The animal
darted across the trail several yards ahead of me, then went behind a
tree and froze. I froze too. While I tried to quietly get my camera,
the beast peeked at me, tail twitching, giving me a good enough look
at its face to determine that ,yes, this was a wolf, not a coyote.
The wolf appeared frightened as he/she seemed to weigh escape options
before bolting off into the forest. It was a moment I'll never
forget! AZ Game & Fish has just posted a wolf project update on
their website. There's lots of good information about the program
and telemetry flight locations of the packs.
WOLF LOCATIONS AS OF 1-6-2014:
Arizona Game & Fish Wolf Info:
928-339-4329
No comments:
Post a Comment