PINETOP-LAKESIDE, Ariz. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward up to $37,000 for any information that leads to an arrest in the deaths of two endangered Mexican gray wolves. The bodies of the wolves were found near Pinetop, Arizona on March 22 and 23.
“Each of these endangered wolves deserves a chance to survive in the wild,” said Amy Lueders, regional director for the service in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “Our law enforcement officers are actively working with the Arizona Game and Fish Department to conduct a comprehensive investigation into these suspicious deaths."
Leuders said wolf poachers have faced serious criminal charges before.
The Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project has been around since 1998 and stretches across parts of Arizona and New Mexico. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is just one of seven agencies involved in the effort to bring back the wolves.
At last count, there were at least 163 Mexican wolves in the wild.
