Cliff Buchan
News Editor
Vandals who made their way inside the Wildlife Science Center animal compound Sunday night, pried open a wolf enclosure and set loose three rare Mexican gray wolves.

By Monday night, two of three female sisters had been recaptured. The third wolf has not been caught but has been seen in the area of Coon Lake to the west of the WSC in Columbus.

“We need to let our neighbors know that this was a breakout,” said Peggy Callahan, WSC director. She said the action was likely the result of so-called animal rights terrorists. "They had to know where they were going," she added.

The three wolves are the property of the federal government and were sent to the WSC in a partnership with the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley two years ago. The 55-pound wolf on the run has never lived in the wild and is vulnerable, she said. The wolf resembles a coyote. The Mexican gray wolf is critically endangerd, Callahan said.

If spotted, Callahan is asking the public to keep dogs away from the wolf and not try to catch it. Anyone seeing the wolf should immediately call Matt, the WSC animal coordinator, at 612-730-5574. or the WSC main office at 651-464-3993.

The incident has been reported to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office. WSC staff and volunteers continue to comb the area west of the center with hope of trapping and tranquilzing the wolf.

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