Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program
A change of plans...
A hundred years ago, people tried to exterminate wolves.
Today we’re trying to save them.
Then: Killing wolves
Before settlers arrived in North America, gray wolves could be found throughout most of what is now the United States as well as Canada and northern Mexico. As early as the 17th century, people offered wolf bounties to protect their livestock. Bounties were common across the country by the 18th century. Both private citizens and government agents used
traps, poisons, and guns to kill wolves. And they were highly
successful. Additionally, forest clearing dramatically reduced their habitat. By 1900, wolves had been extirpated from the northeastern area of the country as well as much of Canada. By the early 1980s, it looked like the subspecies of Mexican wolves—native to the southwest—were extinct in the wild.
Now: Saving wolves
A handful of Mexican wolves survived in zoos and other breeding facilities. These, and five wild wolves caught in Mexico between 1977 and 1980, became the foundation for a breeding program—and the last hope for saving the subspecies. Today, Mexican wolves are making a comeback in the wild! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and Mexico’s Secretaria de Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y Pesca, to reintroduce captive-born wolves into their former range.
Mexican wolves, which were added to the federal list of endangered species in 1976, are protected by the Endangered Species
Act, and are being reintroduced into the wild as part
of the Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan. Other gray wolf subspecies have made a comeback as well. No longer considered endangered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, there are now more than 2,500 wolves living in a few northern states.
Steps to Wolf Reintroduction
Breed more wolves
The National Zoo is working with more than 40 other zoos
and breeding facilities to save the Mexican wolf. To keep
the population genetically healthy, breeding efforts are
carefully managed under an AZA Species Survival Plan.
Prepare
Before release, wolves live in near-wild conditions at one
of three wolf management facilities—the Sevilleta
National Wildlife Refuge (pictured, New Mexico), Ted Turner's
Ladder Ranch (New Mexico), and Wolf Haven International
(Washington state).
Let them go
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will continue
releases until the wild population is self-sustaining at
probably about 100 animals. As of fall 2004, there are 49 Mexican wolves in the wild.
Keep learning
Wolves are fitted with radio collars so biologists can closely
monitor their movements. This type of research is critical
to protecting and managing endangered wildlife.
Anticipate setbacks...
For wolves, making the transition to the wild is tough—and
can be dangerous. Five of the first 11 reintroduced wolves
were found shot. But others have survived, and are now breeding
in the wild.
...and controversy
Some people don’t want wolves around. Occasionally,
wolves attack livestock, particularly young cattle. To help
ease tensions, Defenders of Wildlife (a private conservation
group) reimburses local ranchers for their losses. Problem
wolves are relocated or removed from the wild.
Want to know more? To follow the Mexican wolf recovery
effort, visit:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mexican Wolf Recovery
Program.
