Mexican Wolf

Mexican Wolf Spanish: Lobo Mexicano
Captive Mexican Wolf at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Genus:	Canis
Species:	C. lupus
Subspecies:	C. l. baileyi
Trinomial name
Canis lupus baileyi (Nelson & Goldman, 1929)
Mexican Wolf range

The Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is a subspecies of the Gray Wolf. It is native to North America, where it is the rarest and most genetically distinct subspecies.

Physical features

The Mexican Wolf is the smallest Gray Wolf subspecies present in North America. Reaching an overall length no greater than 1.2–1.5 metres (3.9–4.9 ft) and a maximum height of about 80 centimetres (31 in), it is around the size of a German Shepherd Dog. Weight ranges from 27–37 kilograms (60–82 lb). In stature, it resembles some European wolves, though its head is usually broader, its neck thicker, its ears longer and its tail shorter.^[1]

History

Illustration of a Mexican Wolf

The Mexican Wolf was described by both naturalists Hernández and Fernandez.^[2]

Former range and extirpation

Until recent times, the Mexican Wolf ranged the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts from central Mexico to western Texas, southern New Mexico, and central Arizona. By the turn of the 20th century, reduction of natural prey like deer and elk caused many wolves to begin attacking domestic livestock, which led to intensive efforts by government agencies and individuals to eradicate the Mexican Wolf. Hunters also hunted down the wolf because it killed deer. Trappers and private trappers have also helped in the eradication of the Mexican Wolf. (Note that recent studies completed by genetics experts show evidence of Mexican Wolves ranging as far north as Colorado). These efforts were very successful, and by the 1950s, the Mexican Wolf had been eliminated from the wild. In 1976, the Mexican Wolf was declared an endangered subspecies and has remained so ever since. Today, an estimated 300 Mexican Wolves survive in 49 facilities at the United States and Mexico.^[3]

Reintroduction to the Southwest

See also: Mexican Wolf Arizona Reintroduction

In 1997, controversy arose when a captive pack at Carlsbad Caverns National Park designated for release was found by Roy McBride, who had captured many wolves for the recovery programme in the 1970s, to be largely composed of wolf-dog hybrids. Though staff initially argued that the animal's odd appearance was due to captivity and diet, it was later decided to euthanise them.^[4]

In March 1998, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) began reintroducing Mexican Wolves into the Blue Range area of Arizona. The overall objective of this program was to reestablish 100 Mexican Wolves in the Apache and Gila National Forests of Arizona and New Mexico by 2008.

On March 30, 1998, government biologists released 11 gray wolves — 3 adult males, 3 adult females, 3 female pups and yearlings and 2 male pups — from 3 chain-link acclimation pens within the 18,130 square kilometres (7,000 sq mi), federally designated Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in east-central Arizona.

A population count completed by the Interagency Field Team (IFT) in the winter of 2006–2007 estimated 60 wolves living in the recovery area in several packs.^[5]

Captive Breeding Programs

There are 47 Mexican Wolf breeding facilities in United States and Mexico with the largest in the world being the Wild Canid Survival and Research Center near Eureka, Missouri which was founded in 1971 by naturalist Marlin Perkins and his wife Carol. [1] [2]

Gallery

Canis lupus baileyi	A captive, resting Mexican Wolf at the Minnesota Zoo	A captive Mexican Wolf running in its zoo enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park	At the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Mexican Wolf lapping water

Notes

1. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named fdhfdhdfhgenera; see Help:Cite error.
2. ^ The Natural History of Dogs: Canidæ Or Genus Canis of Authors. Including Also the Genera Hyæna and Proteles by Charles Hamilton Smith, contributor William Home Lizars, Samuel Highley, W. Curry, Junr. & Co, Published by W.H. Lizars, ... S. Highley, ... London; and W. Curry, jun. and Co. Dublin., 1839
3. ^ USFWS Species Survival Plan Captive Facilities
4. ^ Letter from Roy McBride to David Parsons
5. ^ USFWS Wolf Recovery in North America(2007)

Wikispecies has information related to: Mexican Wolf

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mexican Wolf

External links

• Mexicanwolves.org - completely dedicated to lobos, with essays, photos, video, interactive maps, and ways to get involved in Mexican wolf reintroduction.
• The Living Desert - a zoo and nature preserve that coordinates Mexican Wolf reintroduction efforts
• The California Wolf Center - a wildlife education center dedicated to the restoration of North American Ecosystems. The Wolf Center is a major participant in Mexican Wolf Recovery Efforts.

• Private public partnerships also include the Mexican Wolf Conservation Fund (now just known as the "Mexican Wolf Fund"), the only single purpose private fund dedicated to assisting with livestock conflicts involving the Mexican Wolf Recovery program.
• Field Trip Earth - Field Trip Earth is a conservation education website operated by the North Carolina Zoological Society.