Wolves Who Survived Butte Fire Now Living On Arizona Preserve

Monday, February 1, 2016 | Sacramento, CA |

(AP) - Four wolves that survived a California wildfire by burrowing underground are now living in an Arizona wildlife preserve.

The Kingman Daily Miner reports that last September's Butte Fire burned more than 70,000 acres near Jackson, California. When the flames died, a man set out to bury the five wolves who lived on his property, but instead found them alive.

Keepers of the Wild sanctuary director Jonathan Kraft says the animals dug a huge underground den to avoid the fire.

The pack's alpha male died shortly after the wildfire from advanced heart worm disease.

Nine-year-old wolf Banyanita and her three offspring were taken to Keepers of the Wild in Golden Valley after their habitat was burned. Banyanita's offspring, Pawnee, Shadow and Unita, turn five in April.

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