A veterinarian monitors the health of the sedated wolf throughout the process to ensure safety for the wolf and the crew. The lead processor guides the crew as they conduct a health examination of the wolf, administer vaccines, draw blood, take body measurements, and fit it with a tracking collar. When word comes in that a Mexican wolf has been darted and tranquilized, ground crews of trained biologists prepare to receive and process the wolf. Image Details For wolves in remote locations, ground crews of trained biologists work on the back of truck beds. Once the air crew and wolf are safely secured, the helicopter transports the wolf to the nearest ground crew for processing. There’s a quick check of the wolf’s vital signs before it’s carried back to the helicopter. If a dart goes in and a wolf succumbs to the effects of the tranquilizer, the helicopter will land and the helicopter darter and mugger will retrieve the sedated wolf. If a target wolf is located, and if the surrounding terrain accommodates a safe capture attempt, the helicopter darter will attempt to tranquilize the wolf from the air. When the helicopter locates a Mexican wolf pack, the crew on board counts the number of wolves in the pack from the air. Once the spotter plane has a location, it’s relayed to the helicopter below. A spotter plane uses radio location equipment to locate the day’s target wolves. Two aircraft are used in the annual Mexican wolf count and capture. Image Details Once a wolf is dropped off to trained biologists on the ground, the helicopter takes off again to locate the next target wolf. A helicopter darter uses darts with tranquilizers to sedate wolves, while a mugger is a person that helps locate, count and capture wolves from a helicopter. Instead of flutists, violinists, trumpeters, and drummers, however, there are pilots, aerial darters, muggers, and veterinarians working together to ensure that everyone (people and wildlife!) stays safe and achieves conservation goals. The aerial operation portion of the Mexican wolf count is conducted much like an orchestra - each person has a role to play - all in harmony. Once the list of target wolves and packs has been developed, the days are planned out and the aerial portion of the wolf count is ready to begin. Radio collars also help the Interagency Field Team manage wolves to mitigate and avoid attacks on cattle through a variety of non-lethal techniques, such as hazing wolves, range riders and providing diversionary food caches to avoid depredations. Radio collars track movements of individual wolves and packs as well as let the Interagency Field Team know when wolves are denning (and pups are being whelped) and when a death occurs. The radio tracking collars use GPS and very high frequency (VHF) technology and are essential tools in the management of wild wolves. At the top of the list are Mexican wolf packs without any radio tracking collars, followed closely by wolves with failing collars. Once the database is complete, targets for the count and capture are identified by the Interagency Field Team. All the survey data are then recorded in a database and used to make management decisions. Priority is given to Mexican wolf packs with pups that were cross-fostered in the spring. Confirmation of uncollared wolves is achieved through visual observation, remote cameras, howling, scat (poo or droppings), and tracks.Įfforts are also made to document pup survival. Biologists use GPS locations and radio signals from collared wolves to find the wolf packs and obtain visual observations. During this time, wolves are documented by driving on roads and hiking canyons, trails, or other areas closed to motor vehicles. Beginning in October, Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team (Interagency Field Team) staff conduct ground counts across Arizona and New Mexico. Fish and Wildlife Service’s annual Mexican wolf count starts in earnest every fall. How radio collars contribute to conservation Average survival of Mexican wolf pups in their first year is around 50%. A wolf pack is defined as two or more wolves that maintain an established territory.Ī minimum of 144 pups were born in 2021, and at least 56 survived to the end of the year - a 38% survival rate. The most recent count also found that at the end of 2021, there were at least 45 packs of wolves. Image Details Tracks, like this Mexican wolf paw print, help biologists track wolves during annual ground surveys.
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