Mexican Wolf Blue Range Reintroduction Project Draft: August 24, 2009
Replacement Wolf Release Proposal for Arizona 2013 Page 2 of 7
Mexican Wolf Blue Range Reintroduction Project
Replacement Release Outline for Arizona 2013
Draft: September 27, 2012
Replacement Release Objective
This document is intended to outline management options for a replacement release of Mexican wolves into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (BRWRA) in Arizona in 2013. The objective of this management action is to release wolves from the captive breeding population into the existing wild wolf population in Arizona to replace wolves that have been removed from the population due to illegal and natural mortality following the guidelines from the Arizona Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) in 2012. Replacement wolves from the captive breeding program will be selected to maximize genetic diversity of the wild wolf population within the BRWRA.
Background
In January 2012, the AGFC provided direction to the Department’s contingent on the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program’s Interagency Field Team (IFT) regarding any future initial wolf release into the BRWRA in Arizona. The Commission directed AGFD IFT personnel to consider only initial wolf releases to replace wolves that were removed from the existing wild wolf population due to unlawful take of wolves or other natural events such as vehicle strikes, prey interactions, lightning strikes or other events. The decision to replace wolves that were killed unlawfully would be delegated to the Director of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The decision to replace wolves removed due to other natural events would reside at the Commission level. For the purposes of this outline, only wolves removed from within Arizona since 2011 will be considered for replacement.
In November 2011, male wolf pup 1242 from the Bluestem Pack was unlawfully shot and killed in the vicinity of Big Lake in Arizona. In March 2012, female pup 1247from the Hawks Nest Pack was unlawfully shot and killed in the vicinity of Alpine, Arizona. Both of these wolves were part of packs that are adjacent to one another in Arizona and could have located each other after they dispersed from their respective packs. The IFT is proposing to provide replacement wolves for the loss of these wolves. The options are to release a pair bonded set of breeding age wolves from the captive breeding program within the Primary Recovery Zone (PRZ) in Arizona or to release a single adult female Mexican wolf after pairing the female wolf from captivity with an existing wild male wolf in the PRZ in Arizona.
In July of 2012, breeding male wolf AM806 from the Bluestem Pack was located dead within the pack’s territory near Big Lake in Arizona. The necropsy examination determined that this wolf was unlawfully shot and killed. The IFT is proposing a “provisional” replacement release of a single male wolf from the captive breeding population to facilitate a pair formation with AF1042 from the Bluestem Pack in the winter of 2013. This replacement release would be contingent on the IFT determination that another breeding male wolf from the existing population is not traveling with AF1042 prior to the 2013 annual helicopter count and capture effort in January 2013. If this release does not occur and the IFT determines that AF1042 has paired up with a male wolf from the wild population and is displaying denning behavior in 2013, the IFT is proposing to utilize the cross fostering of wild pups from the captive breeding population to add the pups from captivity to the Bluestem Pack den to increase the genetic diversity of the pups in this pack.
Each of these potential management actions has positive and negative aspects and they are discussed in more detail in the alternatives section of the proposal.
Alternatives for Replacement Release Action
Alternative 1 – Corduroy Creek Bonded Pair
Proposed Action
This action would involve the initial release of a bonded pair of naïve wolves in the vicinity of Corduroy Creek on the Alpine Ranger District. These wolves would be released into a chain link fence enclosure in April prior to the female wolf whelping pups. The wolves would be kept in the release pen for several weeks and supplemental feed would be provided to the wolves to assist in anchoring them to the site until such time as elk calves are present in the area in late May.
There are two provisional release sites for this alternative, Hoodoo Knoll and Fish Bench. These release sites locations are located north of the Corduroy Creek release site at lower elevations on the periphery of the Rim Pack territory and will only be considered if the IFT is unable to utilize the Corduroy Creek release site for logistical reasons.
Associated Management Actions
The Corduroy Creek release site is within the current summer range of the Rim Pack. Currently this pack consists of AM1107 and AF858. The IFT has not documented pups produced from this pairing of wolves since spring of 2010. The breeding female AF858 is currently ten years old and the breeding male AM1107 is at least seven years old. The genetic profile of pups produced by this pair is not beneficial to the existing wild wolf population. It is likely that one or both of these wolves may no longer be capable of producing pups. The Rim Pack has been successful in their territory. From 2004 until 2010, AF858 and four different breeding male wolves, an uncollared male, AM992, AM991 and AM1107, have produced a minimum of 16 pups. Wolves from the Rim Pack have occupied this territory since 2004 with a minimal level of livestock depredations.
Since it appears that AF858 and/or AM1107 may no longer be reproductively active and the genetic profile of pups produced by this pair is not beneficial to the wild wolf population, the IFT proposes the non lethal removal of AF858 of the current breeding pair for this pack to meet two different management objectives. While AF858 is not genetically valuable for the wild wolf population, the genetic profile of this wolf is of value to the captive Species Survival Plan (SSP) population of Mexican wolves. Removing this wolf to captivity would allow the SSP to utilize her unfertilized eggs for captive breeding operations. Removing AF858 would reduce the potential for aggressive interactions between the Rim Pack and the new pair of replacement wolves. This would assist in acclimating the new pair of wolves and their pups into the territory and reduce the competition between the Rim Pack and the new wolves for food resources in the area.
The release of a pair of breeding age wolves with pups has proven to be an effective method of initially releasing naïve wolves from captivity. The proposed replacement pair would be allowed to breed in captivity prior to release into the BRWRA. The wolves would be placed into the pen and held there until the female whelps the pups to assist in anchoring the new wolves in the area selected for release and thus decrease the potential for the wolves traveling widely through the BRWRA immediately after they are released.
Favorable Attributes:
1. Release area is on large ungrazed portion of Alpine Ranger District. There will be no grazing in the area adjacent to the proposed initial release site during the summer.
2. The proposed release area and surrounding potential home range has had minimal livestock depredation history.
3. Prey densities will likely increase due to recent fire impacts to habitat.
4. Release method has good opportunity to successfully integrate naïve wolves into existing wild wolf population.
5. The release of a pair of wolves with greater genetic diversity than the existing wild wolf population would help to improve the overall genetic diversity of the entire population in the future.
Negative Attributes:
1. Proposed alternative will be most successful if one or both of existing Rim Pack wolves are removed. This may be logistically difficult to accomplish.
2. While the potential for livestock depredation is low in this area of the BRWRA, the released wolves may come in contact with livestock during the winter months. These wolves will need to be managed actively during winter months.
3. Release site is just over 5 miles from the San Carlos Apache Indian reservation.
Alternative 2 – Replace wolf AF858 from the Rim Pack
Proposed Action
This action would involve the pairing of a female wolf from the captive breeding program with the existing breeding male for the Rim Pack, AM1107. These wolves would be placed into the Engineer Springs enclosure sometime in January and allowed to become familiar with each other. The wolves would be kept in the release pen for several weeks and supplemental feed would be provided to the wolves to assist in forming a bond between the wolves. Both of the wolves would be released from the pen after a period of time and allowed to disperse into the BRWRA. Based on the history of AM858 and proximity to his normal territory, the IFT expects that this wolf will disperse back into its traditional territory west of Engineer Springs.
Associated Management Actions
The Engineer Springs release site is adjacent to the current winter range of the Rim Pack. Currently the Rim Pack consists of AM1107 and AF858. The IFT has not documented pups produced from this pairing of wolves since spring of 2010. The breeding female AF858 is currently ten years old and the breeding male AM1107 is at least seven years old. The genetic profile of pups produced by this pair is not beneficial to the existing wild wolf population. It is likely that AF858 is no longer capable of producing pups. The territory for the Rim Pack has been productive and been able to support this pack (AF858 and four different breeding male wolves, an uncollared male, AM992, AM991 and AM1107) since 2004 with a minimal level of livestock depredations.
Since it appears that AF858 and/or AM1107 are no longer reproductively active and the genetic profile of pups produced by this pair is not beneficial to the wild wolf population, the IFT proposes the non-lethal removal of AF858 from the population and the capture of AM1107. AM1107 would be paired with a female wolf from the captive population. This wolf would have a favorable genetic profile that is different from the existing wild wolf population. Both wolves would be placed into the Engineer Springs holding pen for several weeks to allow them to become accustomed to one another. The goal of the pairing would be to facilitate the breeding of the wolves within the holding pen. After these wolves have been together in the release pen, they would both be released back into the Rim Pack territory. If AF858 is not captured and AM1107 is captured, the IFT would proceed with the release plan and pair AM1107 with the new female wolf from captivity as it is not likely that AM1107 would abandon the new female wolf he is paired with to rejoin AF858.
Favorable Attributes:
1. Pairing AM1107 with a new female wolf from the captive breeding program would assist in integrating a new female wolf into the wild wolf population.
2. The current Rim Pack territory has successfully supported this wolf pack since 2004 with minimal depredation issues.
3. Prey density in the area should increase due to recent fire impacts to habitat.
4. The critical genetic profile of AF858 would be preserved for recovery efforts in the captive breeding program.
5. The wolf selected for release into the PRZ will undergo Conditioned Taste Aversion regimen to potentially reduce the likelihood that the wolf will attempt to utilize livestock as a food source.
Negative Attributes:
1. The proposed alternative requires that one or both wolves from the Rim Pack be captured from the existing wild wolf population. This could be difficult to accomplish due to logistical issues associated with capture efforts.
2. The pairing of two wolves that are not familiar with one another may not be successful. If this were not successful then the new female wolf would most likely disperse through the BRWRA and potentially cause nuisance related issues with local stakeholders.
3. The release of one wolf with greater genetic diversity into the existing population would not potentially improve the genetic diversity of the existing wild wolf population as much as the release of two wolves with greater genetic diversity.
Alternative 3 – Hoodoo Knoll/Fish Bench Bonded Pair
Proposed Action
This action would involve the initial release of a bonded pair of naïve wolves in the vicinity of Hoodoo Knoll on the Alpine Ranger District. These wolves would be released into a chain link fence enclosure in April prior to the female wolf whelping pups. The wolves would be kept in the release pen for several weeks and supplemental feed would be provided to the wolves to assist in anchoring them to the site until such time as elk calves are present in the area in late May. Hoodoo Knoll would be the primary release site for this proposal. The Fish Bench release site would be a secondary release site for this proposal.
Associated Management Actions
The Hoodoo Knoll and Fish Bench release sites are located adjacent to one another on the periphery of the current summer range of the Rim Pack. Currently this pack consists of AM1107 and AF858. The IFT has not documented pups produced from this pairing of wolves since spring of 2010. The breeding female AF858 is currently ten years old and the breeding male AM1107 is at least seven years old. It is likely that one or both of these wolves may no longer be capable of producing pups. The Rim Pack has been successful in their territory. Wolves from the Rim Pack have occupied this territory since 2004 with a minimal level of livestock depredations.