New Mexico Central

A Wolf Adventure: Bringing Lobos Home to Wildlife West Nature Park

by John Weckerle

Ted Turner's Ladder Ranch embodies the spirit of southern New Mexico, with breathtaking scenery around every bend in the road.

On November 17, three Mexican Gray Wolves made the move from the Ladder Ranch in southern New Mexico to Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood.  Our journey began early, with the van leaving the Park at 5 a.m., carrying eight of us (Park founder Roger Alink; volunteers Christi Boyer and Pat Button; filmmaker Elke Duerr; East Mountain High School teacher Bradd Schulke [who also manages Wildlife West’s summer education program] and two of his students; and your editor) to the Ladder Ranch southwest of Truth or Consequences.  The mood was a lot cheery and a little bleary, with some folks chatting and some napping, gathering their strength for the day’s activities.  Your editor sat next to Ms. Duerr, who is in the process of creating a documentary on the Mexican Gray Wolf, or lobo.  We discussed the lobos and they myths surrounding them, as well as the wolf’s place in the ecosystem and ecosystem management in general.  Of course, policy, politics, and special interests had a prominent place in the discussion, but we’ll save those issues for a future article.

USFWS Veterinarian Dr. Susan Dicks discusses procedures with filmmaker Elke Duerr and Wildlife West volunteer Pat Button, who recorded measurements and other data.

We arrived at the Ladder Ranch at about 8 a.m.  The Ladder Ranch is owned by Ted Turner, who is now the largest single landowner in North America.  The ranch itself is huge, encompassing mountains, canyons, streams, and valleys.  It greets one with a profound sense of presence; senses seem sharpened, details clearer, and there is a feeling of heightened awareness of the land and the living systems it contains.  We met with the Ladder Ranch’s endangered species expert, Bill Mader, and several representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS): veterinarian Susan Dicks, field coordinator Melissa Kreutzian, and volunteer wolf biologist Colby.  Joining us as fellow volunteers were a teacher and two students from Hillsborough High School and several local residents ready and eager to help.

Activities began with a briefing on how the day’s work would proceed.  We would begin by capturing a wolf living in its own enclosure for the purpose of inoculation, blood tests, and weighing.  Once the measurements and samples had been taken, the wolf would be returned to the pen from which she came.  We would then proceed to an adjacent habitat and capture two wolves, who would be similarly inoculated, sampled, and weighed; these would be brought to the pen in which the third group of wolves – three brothers headed for Wildlife West – were living.  These wolves would be captured, inoculated, and measured, and loaded onto a truck for transport to Wildlife West.  The other two wolves would then be released into their pen.

We drove to the first pen (the habitats are in remote locations far from the developed parts of the ranch), with your editor riding along in the USFWS truck, which took the lead.  A 4-wheel drive SUV and two all terrain vehicles rounded out the caravan.  It was a delightfully scenic ride – all the more so because we missed the turn to the pen and rode some distance before turning around and heading back to the habitat.

A specially designed muzzle incorporates a quick release and a blindfold to help keep the wolf calm.

We arrived at the first enclosure without further incident, and carried equipment and supplies to the enclosure.  Everything is kept out of the sight of the occupant, as part of a coordinated effort to keep the wolves as comfortable and relaxed as possible during the process.  We received our instructions from our field coordinator, Ms. Kreutzian. Each of us took a tool (to make ourselves look bigger), and we all entered the capture pen and then the main enclosure.  The plan: proceed to the far end of the pen, and move slowly toward the entrance and associated capture pen, herding the wolf ahead of us.  The wolf would enter the capture pen and then, with luck, go into one of the plywood box structures located therein to hide.  As with your editor’s previous wolf capture, we were instructed to let the wolf pass through if she challenged the line.  Quietly (to keep the wolf relaxed), we began to form a line, leaving Mr. Mader behind to pull the rope on the capture pen door when the wolf entered.

Our regular readers will recall our description of events at the previous capture – essentially, that things went horribly right.  Well, to steal a line from Yogi Berra, it was like déja vu all over again; before we were in place, we heard Mr. Mader call “she’s in.”  She had decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and gone into hiding in the box.  So far, so good.

After transfer from the box to an adjacent weighing tarp, the wolf's examination begins. Clockwise from top left are Ms. Kreutzian, Carl, Colby, Ms. Button, and Dr Dicks.

Vaccination, blood testing, and weigh-in then proceeded.  Members of the team experienced in wolf handling held the wolf in place using Y-poles, and a towel was placed over her head; according to Dr. Dicks, this helps to keep the wolf calm and relaxed.  USFWS volunteer wolf biologist Colby then entered the box, and placed a specially designed muzzle on the wolf. The muzzle incorporates a hood that covers the wolf’s eyes – again with calmness in mind – and a quick release that allows the wolf handlers to remove the muzzle quickly and at a distance, making things as comfortable as possible for the wolf. The experienced team members than lifted the wolf out of the box and onto a special tarp designed for weighing the wolf.  As soon as the wolf was on the tarp, Dr. Dicks took the lead, working with team members to begin taking measurements.  The wolf’s vital signs are monitored throughout the process to ensure that any signs of discomfort are quickly observed and action taken to calm and relax the wolf.  Techniques including cold packs and rubbing alcohol applied to the wolf’s feet are used to manage the wolf’s temperature, a key element in keeping the subject comfortable.  Dr. Dicks used a butterfly catheter to draw blood for analysis; this allows her to use a smaller needle and fill multiple vials with only one “poke.”

Ms. Kreutzian and Dr. Dicks take readings of temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate. These measurements are taken frequently throughout the process.

Having been thoroughly examined and chronicled, the wolf returned to her enclosure without further ado and trotted off into the brush, presumably with the purpose of putting some distance between herself and the primate brigade.

We then walked down to the next habitat, where the two male wolves who would take up residence in the Wildlife West wolves’ enclosure were located.  Once again, we entered the capture pen and then the enclosure; once again, we lined up to begin the herding process; and once again the wolves high-tailed it straight into the boxes.  These wolves were scheduled for vaccination and weighing – no blood samples – so the process went even more quickly than before.  Dr. Dicks noted that one of the wolves, though appearing otherwise healthy, had lost some weight since his last examination.  She explained that this was not uncommon in cases where social roles shift and a wolf moves from a dominant role to one lower in the hierarchy, but the program would keep an eye on the situation to ensure that the wolf remains in optimum health.

One of the wolves got a ride back to the truck on an ATV, and several of us carried the other up the trail.  Onto the truck they went, and we were off to the final enclosure where the Three Amigos awaited.

Dr. Dicks, Ms. Kreutzian, and Ms. Button prepare vaccinations and other equipment in preparation for the Wildlife West wolves' transfer.

The sun was high by now, and outerwear was shed by many of the team members.  We placed the two males we had brought in the shade of a water tank at the head of the trail leading down to the habitat.  We left them in the care of Wildlife West founder Roger Alink, as it is important that the wolves be attended at all times during the transfer.  We were informed that our young (4 years old) wolves were very fond of water and fairly energetic, so that we might see some action in this capture.  We filed into the pen and lined up along the far end – and for a change, the wolves did not bolt directly into the boxes.  We actually had to move halfway or more across the enclosure before they ran into the pen, and even then they stayed outside the boxes for a bit.  We were instructed to remain out of site while the USFWS and Ladder Ranch personnel coaxed them into the boxes.  The waiting wasn’t bad at all; there are far worse places than the Ladder Ranch to stand around looking at the scenery.

Dr. Dicks prepares one of the Wildlife West wolves for weigh-in.

Before long, the wolves were in the boxes, and the processing began anew.  Guesses were made on the weights prior to measurement, and nobody was off by more than two pounds on the two smaller males.  The alpha male in the group weighed in at a whopping seventy pounds. Of course, this was the wolf that your editor and three of the students chose to carry up the trail, raising some questions as to whether humans are actually smarter than wolves, who would likely have picked the smallest for hand-carrying.  The team busily shuttled wolves up and down between the enclosure and the trailhead where the vehicles were parked, and having loaded everything up, we headed back to the Ladder Ranch office compound.

While at the office, we were treated to a brief tour of another endangered species project, this one associated with the Bolson Tortoise, North America’s largest tortoise species.  Discovered in 1959, the tortoise was widespread during the Pleistocene epoch but is now in a state of serious decline in the wild, with a great deal of habitat destruction occurring in its current range.  The Turner Endangered Species Fund maintains 26 breeding individuals at its Armendaris Ranch in New Mexico, and the tortoises at the Ladder Ranch are offspring resulting from success in the breeding program.  The tortoises had already gone underground in the large, soil-filled stock tanks in which they are being raised to hibernate for the winter, so we did not actually see them.  Mr. Mader gave an excellent talk on the tortoises and on the value of endangered species in general.

The work at the Ladder Ranch concluded, we bid our local team members farewell and headed for Edgewood.  Your editor and the two East Mountain High School students rode with Ms. Kreutzian.  Because we were riding in a truck rather than in a van, conversation was allowed (and lively); if we had been traveling in a van, silence would have been maintained for the sake of the wolves.

Safe and sound - the third wolf leaves his travel carrier and enters his spacious new home at Wildlife West Nature Park.

We arrived at Wildlife West after dark – great for the wolves, if not for the photographers – and brought the wolves to their new habitat.  Volunteers lined the crates up inside the enclosure, and opened the door of the first crate.  When the wolf did not immediately exit its travel carrier, the second and third were opened.  One by one, the wolves shot out of the crates and disappeared into the darkness.  The transfer was a success.

The team socialized briefly as the carriers were disassembled and loaded back into the USFWS truck for transport back to Albuquerque, and then again in the Wildlife West parking lot.  Like the wolves, the team members disappeared into the night, each on his or her way home with a wonderful tale to tell.  Chief Endangered Species Affairs Correspondent Wilson was relieved to see your editor return in one piece, and intrigued by the lasting impression the wolf encounter had made on his clothing.  Your editor shared the tale of his adventures with the other denizens of New Mexico Central headquarters, showed them a few photographs, and went to bed early, sleeping the contented sleep of one who has enjoyed a major, positive life experience.

Saturday, November 20th, 2010, by John Weckerle and is filed under "Ecology/Environment, Edgewood, Wildlife ". You can leave a response here. Pinging is currently not allowed.