Female gray wolf killed after 5 cows reported dead from wolf attacks

ALBUQUERQUE - A female endangered Mexican gray wolf targeted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permanent removal from the wild has been killed, the agency and the Center for Biological Diversity said.

Officials were seeking to remove the male and female that made up the Nantac pack because the animals had been involved in the killing of at least five cows. The male was killed in June by the wolf recovery team under a permanent removal order.

The female was shot Thursday, according to Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Elizabeth Slown.

The Fish and Wildlife Service began releasing wolves into the wild on the Arizona-New Mexico line in 1998 to re-establish the species in part of its historic range. The agency estimates 32 to 46 wolves live in the two states.

Arizona Republic