Feds: 14 endangered Mexican wolves found dead in 2016

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — More than a dozen endangered Mexican gray wolves were killed in 2016, including two at the hands of wildlife officials who were trying to survey the struggling population early last year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has confirmed that 14 wolf deaths were documented last year, many of which remain under investigation. That number marks the most deaths in any single year since the federal government began reintroducing the predators in New Mexico and Arizona in 1998. Illegal killings have been a problem over the years, and officials say that challenge will remain as the wolves disperse into other areas of the Southwest. A review of the program's monthly reports also shows investigators confirmed more than two dozen livestock kills by wolves in New Mexico and Arizona last year.