There are less than 90 Mexican wolves in the wilds of New Mexico and Arizona, making it one of the most endangered animals on the planet.

An Endangered Native PredatorThe Mexican wolf–Canis lupus baileyi, also known as the “lobo”–is the

smallest, southernmost and most endangered subspecies of gray wolf in North America.

Although similar in appearance to coyotes, they are larger overall, have longer legs and bigger feet, have rounder and relatively shorter ears, and broader noses.

They are intelligent animals that live in family packs of 3-5 wolves on average. They kill and eat a variety of prey, but 85 percent of their diet consists of elk and deer.1

Once found throughout the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico, lobos were wiped out as a result of intense eradication efforts. The last three Mexican wolves were killed in the U.S. in 1970.

Following the lobo’s listing as an endangered species in 1976, an emer-gency captive breeding program was started to save the subspecies. Today there are approximately 250 lobos in more than 50 captive breeding facilities in the U.S. and Mexico.

A reintroduction program was begun in 1998, with a goal of establish-ing a wild population of at least 100 wolves and 18 breeding pairs by 2006. As of the latest count (2013), there were 83 wild Mexican wolves and five breeding pairs in the Gila region of New Mexico and Arizona.

Benefits of Wolves

As top predators, wolves

keep elk and deer herds

healthy, and help maintain the

balance of nature.

Wolves benefit natural

ecosystems in surprising ways.

Following the 1995 reintro-

duction of wolves to Yellowstone, biologists documented the return of

willows and cottonwoods to stream banks that were long ago browsed to

oblivion by over-abundant, unwary elk. Beavers are returning to take ad-

vantage of the newly restored food supply, creating wetlands that provide

habitat for fish, amphibians, insects, and songbirds.2

Wolves can generate economic benefits as well. More than 150,000

people visit Yellowstone each year specifically because of wolves, bringing

$35 million in new revenues to local communities, according to a Universi-

ty of Montana study.

Wolves, Humans and Livestock Although wolves are capable of killing large prey animals, they

pose little danger to humans. In the past 100 years there have been only two documented cases of wolves killing humans in North America. By contrast, dogs kill 10-20 people each year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mexican wolves occasionally attack livestock, but such attacks are rare. Since 1998 there have been less than 300 confirmed attacks on livestock,3 in an area where approximately 40,000 livestock are authorized to graze.

Fortunately, there are ways to help ranchers prevent conflicts with wolves. These include range riders, turbo fladry, timed calving, and livestock guard dogs.

Funding administered by the Mexican Wolf/Livestock Coexistence Council is available to help ranchers implement these measures.

Current situationTime is running out for Mexican wolves. The wild population of

Mexican wolves is losing genetic diversity due to a failure to release new wolves from the captive population. (Only three wolves have been released into the wild since 2008.)

The current reintroduction program is just the first step in bring-ing Mexican wolves back from the brink of extinction. Biologists say that at least 750 wolves distributed in three subpopulations are need-ed for full recovery. These subpopulations would be centered in large core areas where suitable habitat exists: 1) Grand Canyon region; 2) northern New Mexico and southern Colorado; 3) the current Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in central Arizona and New Mexico.4

275 N. Downtown Mall Las Cruces, NM 88001

(575) 522-5552

www.wildmesquite.org

1) http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/wolf/naturalhistory.shtmlRipple, W.J. and Beschta, R.L. Trophic cascades in Yellowstone: The first 15 years after wolf reintroduction Biological 2) Conservation 145, 2012: 205-213.3) http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/pdf/Wolf-livestock_domestic_pet_conflict_1998-2013.pdfU.S. Forest Service 2011 data for Apache and Gila National Forests.4) CARROLL, C., FREDRICKSON, R. J. and LACY, R. C. (2014), “Developing Metapopulation Connectivity Criteria from Genetic and Habitat Data to Recover the Endangered Mexican Wolf.” Conservation Biology, 28: 76–86.

What you can Do!

1. Contact your Congressional representatives, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and NM Governor Susana Martinez. Let them know that protecting Mexican wolves is important to you. Urge them to use their authorities to achieve the following priority actions:

a. Release more wolves into the wild throughout the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area as quickly as possible to slow the loss of genetic diversity.b. Allow wolves to wander and occupy suitable habitat throughout the Southwest, especially in the three core habitat areas identified by biologists as needed for recovery.c. Update the current outdated Mexican wolf recovery plan with one that is based on the best available science.

INTERIOR SECRETARY SALLY JEWELL(202) 208-3801 Email: exsec@ios.doi.gov

US SENATOR TOM UDALL (NM)(202) 224-6621 http://udall.senate.gov (email at website)

US SENATOR MARTIN HEINRICH (NM)(202) 224-5521 http://heinrich.senate.gov (email at website)

NM GOVERNOR SUSANA MARTINEZ(505) 476-2200 http://www.governor.state.nm.us/index.html

2. Donate money or time to SWEC’s campaign to restore Mexican wolves. To learn more, go to wildmesquite.org.