Injured horse in Arizona confirmed as having been attacked by wolves

Silver City Daily Press Article January 8, 2008




Injured horse in Arizona confirmed as having been attacked by wolves


A horse in Nutrioso, Ariz., was al­legedly attacked by wolves Sunday.
Jess Carey, Catron County wolf investigator, gave the first report, saying that seven chunks had been bitten out of a horse belonging to Cindy Sessions.
Sessions said she called Wildlife Services to report the attack and a representative investigated. She said he told her that the size of the bite marks indicated that they were caused by a wolf or wolves.
Chris Carrillo, district super­visor of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and Animal and Plant Services, con­firmed that “based on the evidence at the scene, the attack was consistent with a wolf attack.'
Session said that during the winter she and her family throw feed out to the horses in a 37-acre pasture adja­cent to the house.
She said they went out about 7:30 or 8 Sunday morning, and four of their five horses came up to the fence. When the fifth one, Captain, didn’t move, they went to check on him.
“His right front leg from the low shoulder down, and both rear legs from the knee down were covered in blood, and, although he was standing up, he was unresponsive,' Sessions said. “We got aspirin and shot him with it, then he stood there shaking.' She said the reason the wolves didn’t kill him was because he “nev­er went down.' She was told that if the horse had fallen to the ground, the wolves “would have eaten him and killed him that way.'
Captain was put in a neighbor’s barn, where they doctored his wounds for about four hours using water and salve.
“We have a foot of snow on the ground and can’t get the horse trailer out to take him to the vet, but we’ve been talking to her and she told us to give him antibiotics, which we had on hand,' Sessions said. “Because he was shaking so bad, we heated towels in the microwave to warm him up. About 7 p.m. he stopped shaking.'
She said she knew wolves were in the area, because their dog, a St. Bernard, howls at the wolves when they’re around.
“During the summer, they howl back and forth,' Sessions said. “We didn’t hear them, but our dog has been howling the past three nights, so we knew they were there. When she’s howling, we put her in a pen, because once she tried to go up to them, and we don’t want her to get attacked.'
She reported that during the sum­mer, they had “tons' of sightings, but didn’t know to report them. Now, she is encouraging neighbors to report any sightings, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service knows the wolves are in the area.
“This summer twice when we were riding, we were cornered by wolves, so we hightailed it out of there,' Sessions said. “Among the neighbors, we have documented at least 30 sightings. If you see or hear wolves, report them.'
As of Monday afternoon, Sessions said the horse was “not doing great, but at least he’s still alive.'
One of the gouges was on the horse’s face — an 8-inch slice from just past the lips toward the ear.
“It’s like a filet of skin that can be lifted up,' Sessions said.
—MARY ALICE MURPHY