Rare wolf captured safely; "she's gonna be fine"
By BOB VON STERNBERG, BRETT AKAGI and ABBY SIMONS, Star Tribune
"She's gonna be fine, thank heavens. She's gonna be fine." said Peggy Callahan, executive director of the Wildlife Science Center in Columbus, as the tranquilized animal rested wrapped in a blanket in the back of an SUV. She was later returned to the center to be checked out, though she appeared to be in good shape.
The rare female Mexican gray wolf, one of fewer than 150 of her kind worldwide, was followed, trapped and captured by police and wildlife officials as the frightened animal cowered against a chain link fence near Long Lake Road and I-694 as traffic zoomed by. It was the end of a morning chase that began before 6 a.m. involving residents and police alike, who tracked the wolf.
The wolf disappeared Monday after someone broke a lock on her cage at the center, where she is being prepared for reintegration with other wolves. Two other wolves--her sisters--stayed behind. The wolf, which previously lived at he St. Louis Zoo, is planned one day to be reintegrated into the wild.
Callahan suspects animal extremists are responsible for her release.
Joy Fusco, the science center's administrator, initially discounted the sighting, reported by two television stations and a radio station.
"We've had more than 60 calls, reporting sightings from Edina to Wisconsin and they turn out to be coyotes," she said a couple of hours before the wolf was captured. "We're trying not to go on wild goose chases."
However, the reports prompted the center to dispatch staffers to New Brighton a few hours after the initial sighting, she said.
