Mexican Grey Wolf - Colin Scharff

The Mexican Grey Wolf

Who is this Good Pup?

The Mexican Grey Wolf, or Canis lupus baileyi, is a subspecies of the well-known Grey Wolf. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Mexican wolves typically weigh 50 - 80 pounds and measure about 5 ½ feet from nose to tail, and stand 28 to 32 inches at the shoulder. They have a distinctive, richly colored coat of buff, gray, rust, and black, often with distinguishing facial patterns; solid black or white variations do not exist as with other North American gray wolves. Their genetic distinction and unique range make them a target for conservation, in the hopes of preserving biodiversity. (United States, Fish and Wildlife Service)

Where is Home for Them?

When the Grey Wolf reached its conservation goals in places like Yellowstone National Park, attention was turned to the Mexican Grey Wolf. This wolf is the most distinct and southern sub-species of Grey Wolves in North America, and has a complex history of protection over the past years. These wolves range crosses the US/Mexico border, with ranges in New Mexico, Arizona, and Northern Mexico. This range makes it so this recovery effort is an international one, with proposed populations in Mexico and the US, with the possibility of co-mingling over time. The wolves live in the forested mountain ranges that exist along the border, providing the best prey options, and cover from the elements. (United States, Fish and Wildlife Service)

What Seems to be the Problem?

The Mexican wolf was in dire straights. The wolf population was down to the low tens, and only by captive breeding was the species saved from extinction. These wolves, like their northern cousins, were targeted by ranchers for their predation on livestock, like cattle and sheep. That, combined with the increasingly small habitat available to them in the southern forests of the US and northern Mexico, made the population shrink rapidly. This shrunken population started inbreeding and suffered genetic ailments, as their diversity decreased. The wolves that are being introduced in the wild now are decedents from only seven individuals from the original captive breeding programs. (United States, Fish and Wildlife Service)

What is Being Done?

As the state of the Mexican wolf declined, the species was listed as Endangered in 1978, but due to lawsuits and gridlock, didn't have anything happen much until 1998. This is when the first pack of Mexican wolves was released in the Southern US wilds. A group was introduced back into Mexico in 2011. The recovery plan created in 1982 was revised in 2017 to reorder the conservation effort, and a new plan is being enacted. This plan is far more complete, and hopes to down-listing the Mexican wolf after one of two options are achieved. As quoted from the 2017 recovery plan, the two options relate mostly on either one larger healthy population in the US only, or two smaller healthy populations, one in the US, one in Mexico. The specifics are quoted below.

Option 1: The Mexican wolf will be considered for down-listing when:

a) The United States population average over a 4-year period is greater than or equal to 320 Mexican wolves; and

b) Gene diversity available from the captive population has been incorporated in the United States population through the scheduled releases of wolves surviving to breeding age as identified in de-listing criteria.

Option 2: The Mexican wolf will be considered for down-listing when a minimum of two populations (one in the United States and one in Mexico) meet abundance and genetic criteria as follows:

a) Each population average over the same 4-year period is greater than or equal to 150 wolves with an annual positive population growth rate; and

b) Gene diversity available from the captive population has been incorporated into both the United States and Mexico populations through the scheduled releases of wolves surviving to breeding age as identified in de-listing criteria.

These are the ultimate goals of the recovery plan, and either would be enough to have the Mexican wolf ranked as threatened, instead of endangered. As of 2016, there are an estimated 113 wolves in the United States, and 31 in Mexico. To deal with the problems regarding limited habitat there will be more law enforcement of protected areas, especially in Mexico. The protection of the land will revolve around making possible pathways between the high quality habitats and possible habitat, so the possibility of inter-mingling is maintained. The genetic diversity will be further maintained by introducing captive individuals and groups into the populations to stave off genetic drift. (United States, Fish and Wildlife Service) With all these programs working effectively over the next few years, the Mexican wolf can be saved.

As stated in the recovery plan, "Our recovery strategy, which is based on the current status of the Mexican wolf in the wild and the threats it faces, is to establish and maintain a minimum of two resilient, genetically diverse Mexican wolf populations distributed across ecologically and geographically diverse areas in the subspecies’ range in the United States and Mexico." (United States, Fish and Wildlife Service) The programs have been successful so far, and many people in the effort are optimistic. Workers are continuing to monitor the new pups, vaccinate them, and make sure the genetics are stable, and will continue to do so, until the population is secure. (Arizona Game and Fish)

What Can You Do?

One of the main things that can be done to help the Mexican wolf is spread awareness about these creatures online, and help combat the rhetoric of ranchers that want them removed, stating a threat to their livestock. The wolves are being trained to not eat livestock, as seen in the video below. The ranchers are misinformed about the danger, and see wolves as an existential threat to their livelihood. (New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association) There are less than 150 wolves in the US and they are not going to hunt the cows to the point of financial ruin. A species is worth the cost, and the program can pay them, like in many other conservation programs. The second biggest thing people can do to help the Mexican wolf is protest the construction of a potential border wall along the US/Mexico border. The wall would make it impossible for the wolves to co-mingle across the border, as has already happened twice now. The fence does not keep them out, but a wall might, hurting their genetic diversity even more.

Listen to Them, not Me!

My hometown of San Diego is rearing wolves for the effort, and give a brief overview of how they are trained to avoid livestock, as well as their general goals. If you want to see these creatures move, play and howl, watch below! (Mexican Gray Wolves Making a Comeback)

Citations:

“A Growing Population of Mexican Wolves.” Arizona Game and Fish, 30 Mar. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfMg24z1lsY.

“Mexican Gray Wolves Making a Comeback.” KPBS News, 7 Nov. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSkV2e8RJgw&t=6s.

“New Mexico Ranchers Fight to Stay Alive with Mexican Gray Wolf.” New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_4g-rB2UXk&t=55s.

United States, Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region. “Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan.” Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan, vol. 1, pp. 1–50.

“What Is a Mexican Wolf?” Official Web Page of the U S Fish and Wildlife Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/natural_history.cfm.