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The Mexican gray wolf subspecies once inhabited large areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. However, as the population of the southwestern United States increased dramatically in the early 20th century, wolves increasingly clashed with animal husbandry and other human activities. Private, state, and federal campaigns were carried out against the wolf until the 70s of the 20th century, when the Mexican gray wolf was almost eradicated from the United States and Mexico.
Gray wolf. Source: IUCN Redlist).
In 1973, the United States issued the Endangered Species Act, and the Mexican gray wolf was listed as an endangered speciesAcknowledging that this subspecies is in danger of extinction. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works to restore the gray wolf population in Mexico. The United States and Mexico agreed to establish a binational captive breeding program. In 1982, the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Plan was approved. As the Mexican gray wolf captivity program grew and became increasingly successful in the 80s of the 20th century, attention turned to identifying appropriate areas to reintroduce Mexican wolves into their historic habitat. On 29 March 1998, captive Mexican gray wolves were released into the wild for the first time in a conservation recovery area. 11 of America's rarest and most unique subspecies of Mexican gray wolves have embarked on a historic journey – a journey of recovery.
Oceans and wetlands welcome to the latest and most influential releases related to global marine wetness, and build a community of life on earth with science and science. 2,670 original content*** In the first half of 2023, a female Mexican gray wolf roamed hundreds of miles in the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico in search of a mate — no easy task for one of the most endangered mammals in the United States. After a five-month trek through mountains and valleys, the she-wolf crossed Interstate 40, west of Albuquerque, to the forest outside Santa Fe in the fall of 2022. But as it strolls across the interstate asphalt road, it crosses the invisible boundaries set by U.S. Federal Wildlife**. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.D.).s.Fish and Wildlife Service) has a long-standing policy that any Mexican gray wolf found north of the interstate can be relocated.
The Mexican gray wolf subspecies has made a remarkable recovery over the past 25 years, but national biologists are now concerned that the reintroduction of the larger northern gray wolf in Colorado could undermine that progress if the Mexican gray wolf and northern gray wolf populations are mixed through stray wolves.
These concerns prompted Colorado Wildlife** to sign the first such agreements with New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah in September 2023 — allowing these states to relocate any mobile northern gray wolves back to Colorado. These agreements will help keep the 10 northern gray wolves released in Colorado in December 2023 within the state.
The situation of the Mexican gray wolf is precarious. After decades of extensive efforts, including captive breeding programs, international introductions, and conservation lawsuits, the population recovery situation has taken hold.
Recent state agreements and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service policies will create a buffer zone between the two wolf populations. Without precautions, population mixing could cause Colorado's larger northern gray wolves to dominate the population for breeding, altering the gene pool of subspecies until they become indistinguishable. In fact, American biologists believe that the northern gray wolf is likely to replace the Mexican gray wolf population.
But conservationists question whether allowing the two to mix would endanger the endangered Mexican gray wolf subspecies. The wild Mexican gray wolf population has a limited gene pool, so breeding with the northern gray wolf can help diversify the population.
The endangered Mexican gray wolf subspecies
The Mexican gray wolf (also known as lobo) is a smaller subspecies of the gray wolf that has historically been found in Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Under the U.S. federal Endangered Species Act, the Mexican gray wolf is managed separately from the northern gray wolf, which has thousands of individuals in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Great Lakes region.
By the 70s of the 20th century, the Mexican gray wolf was almost eliminated from the United States and Mexico. For decades, U.S. federal** unregulated hunting and targeted trapping to protect livestock have taken their toll. By 1977, there were only seven known Mexican gray wolves left in the two countries. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mexican gray wolf subspecies was released into the wild in 1998 after decades of managementThere are currently at least 241 Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico and Arizona.
U.S. federal agencies demarcated the boundary along the I-40 highway that spans the southwest, in part because the historical range of the recorded Mexican gray wolf subspecies does not extend north of the interstate. Wildlife managers are also facing pressure from ranching and hunting interests to restrict restoration areas. But wild populations lack genetic diversity.
Habitat under surveillance
The technical task force that developed a plan for the reintroduction of the Colorado wolf pack considered reintroducing the Mexican gray wolf here, but found it to be the "least desirable" option.
The ballot measure to force Colorado to reintroduce wolves did not specify whether a subspecies could be reintroduced. ButThe Mexican gray wolf should be the lowest priority for reintroduction, as Colorado is not within its historical range of activities.
The November 2021 report noted that because they are listed as a distinct entity under the Endangered Species Act, it is critical to maintain the genetic distinctiveness of this subspecies. If there are Mexican gray wolves in Colorado, premature crossbreeding with northern wolves could affect recovery efforts for Mexican gray wolves.
Biologists say Mexican gray wolves need at least three separate but interconnected populations to thrive. One study found that one of these populations should be located in southwestern Colorado.
Grassy countryside. Source: Green Society, Ocean and Wetland).
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