The Mexican Wolf

https://www.czs.org/Brookfield-ZOO/Zoo-Animals/Great-Bear-Wilderness/Mexican-Gray-Wolf.aspx

The Mexican Wolf (CANIS LUPUS BAILEYI)

By Annika Dean

Canis Lupus Baileyi, the Mexican Wolf, El Lobo, the Mexican Grey Wolf; whatever you’d care to call this majestic pack species. Dubbed the world’s most endangered wolf, they are distinguishable from other gray wolves by their smaller build, narrower skull, and darker coat. Their size typically ranges from 4.5 to 5.5 feet long, 26-32 inches tall and weigh around 60 to 80 pounds, with males commonly being heavier and taller than females..The Mexican Wolf thrives in mountainous forested terrain, grasslands, and scrublands where they can feed on ungulate populations and sometimes even smaller mammals.

Geographic and Population Changes

https://www.wolfquest.org/wolf_mexican.php

Historically, the Mexican Wolf ranged from the southwest United States to Mexico (as shown in the figure to the right). Currently, the majority of their populations are in captivity with some wild populations located in Arizona, New Mexico, Northern Sierra Madre Occidental of Chihuahua, and Sonora in Mexico (as shown in the figure below). (Click here to see recent wolf locations!)

https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=A00E Current Mexican Wolf Populations. Light orange represents the experimental population; dark orange represents the wild population.

Listing Date and Type of Listing

The Mexican Wolf has been listed as endangered since April 28, 1976 under the Endangered Species act. It is also listed as an experimental, non-essential population since January 24, 1998 in portions of Arizona and New Mexico by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Under the IUCN Red List it is considered “least concern” because they do not distinguish among the 5 subspecies of gray wolf.

https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=A00E

Cause of Listing and Main Threats

During the late-1800’s to mid-1900’s the Mexican Wolf was targeted under predator eradication programs bringing their population sizes to near eradication numbers and finding itself listed under the Endangered Species Act. Current threats include human intolerance, lack of genetic variation, and small population size.

Recovery Plan

https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/
Pups from an experimental pack found June 2016

In 1977 the United States and Mexico joined together to introduce the Binational Captive Breeding Program with the goal to reintroduce captively bred Mexican Wolves into their historic range. They started with 7 founders and currently house 281 and have experimentally releasing them into the wild since 1998.

The new plan for the Mexican Wolf as stated in the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan is as follows,

"1. Increase the size of two Mexican wolf populations;
2. Improve gene diversity and maintain the health of Mexican wolves;
3. Ensure adequate habitat availability to support viable Mexican wolf populations;
4. Maintain the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan (SSP) captive breeding program to
improve the status of wild populations;
5. Promote Mexican wolf conservation through education and outreach programs; and
6. Ensure recovery success,”

Key parts to ensuring the success of this program by maintaining a healthy gene flow and avoiding demographic stochasticity by keeping a sizable population is through the use of

• Translocating wolves and
• Continuing the release of captive born wolves into the wild

Estimate total cost for first 5 years: $38,455,000

What can you do?

Talk to your government leaders

Be like the Lorax - speak for the Mexican Wolves

Stay informed!

Other Resources

“Mexican Gray Wolf .” Brookfield Zoo, Chicago Zoological Society,

www.czs.org/Brookfield-ZOO/Zoo-Animals/Great-Bear-Wilderness/Mexican-Gray-Wolf

.aspx.

“Mexican Gray Wolf .” Defenders of Wildlife, defenders.org/mexican-gray-wolf/basic-facts.

“Mexican Wolf (Canis Lupus Baileyi).” Environmental Conservation Online System, U.S. Fish

& Wildlife Service, ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=A00E.

“Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan: First Revision.” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,

ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/2017MexicanWolfRecoveryPlanRevision1Final.pdf.