Arizona ranchers Gary and Darcy Ely have had a tough 6 months. It shows in their faces. Gary spends most of his time in the saddle, and Darcy spends most of hers, coordinating meetings, kids and trying to keep the normally calm Gary from losing his cool.
The Elys were fully aware they lived in close proximity to the Mexican Wolf Francisco pack, even dealing with wolf depredations on their livestock. Over the course of the past summer, however, something happened to the Francisco pack that has the Elys scrambling for help. The wolves had a successful litter of pups, and things drastically changed for the worse in the Elys' pastures.
In July, Gary Ely put 165 cows with 70 branded calves into their summer pasture on the 4-drag Ranch in eastern Arizona. In November, after gathering for over a month, his found tally is so low that he is not optimistic about remaining in business. Found so far are...
