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Mexican wolves are staging a comeback in their native Gila National Forest.


We brought these beautiful wolves to the very brink of extinction. There may have been thousands of them when we first drove cattle across the plains and into what would become New Mexico and Arizona. But in those days predators were seen only as a threat, so we proceeded to wipe them out. It took every weapon in our arsenal. When guns alone didn't work we used poisoned carcasses. These carcasses littered the land and poisoned anything that scavenged on them including golden and bald eagles, fox, and coyotes.

Wolves may be the finest example of the perfect family structure. The pack begins when a pair of wolves find each other and a territory which will support themselves and future generations. Their needs are few and simple. With a few ungulates, their native prey animals, and denning sites the wolves can do just fine if left alone. It is after all their native land. The Alpha pair are the only wolves in the pack which breed but the entire pack helps raise puppies. Other pack members usually consist of grown pups and can occasionally include aunts and uncles joining the family once their sister or brothers become Alphas.

Today we are in year eleven of the effort to reintroduce the Mexican wolf into its homeland. In 1998 six cooperating agency's began the uphill battle to restore a native predator in Arizona and New Mexico. Eleven wolves were released into Arizona in March of 1998. They came from captive breeding facilities spread out across this nation. By the time the Endangered Species Act became law the Mexican wolf had been extirpated from its native lands in the United States. That act forced the powers that be to make every effort to find genetically pure Mexican wolves and restore them to their native lands.

A trapper named McBride was sent to Mexico to find wolves there. After several months he found only six, one pregnant female and five males. With these and others in zoos and wildlife centers across the US, which were genetically tested to be sure they were pure Mexican wolves, the captive breeding project began. Today there are a little over three hundred Mexican wolves alive in the world. Currently fifty-two of these roam freely in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area which is nearly 7000 square miles of public lands in Arizona and New Mexico. Every Mexican wolf alive today is in a stud book. These may be the most managed wildlife species alive today.

In future additions I will try and complete the short eleven year history of our reintroduction effort. But first the end of the story, for now anyway. Below you will find excerpts from the most recent public meeting of the six agency's responsible for restoring the Mexican wolf.

The Adaptive Management Work Group presented us with the complete 2008 year end report on the Mexican wolf reintroduction project during the May 27, 2009 meeting in Pinetop, AZ. All six cooperating agency's were in attendance, including Benjamin Tuggle of USFWS. Before you get to President Obama or Ken Salizar, Mr Tuggle is the top of the ladder for the Mexican wolf reintroduction program.

As you may recall the 2008 year end total was the same as 2007, fifty two wolves. In 2008 the wolves did very well raising pups, eleven of the eighteen puppies documented survived until 2009. The IFT did not remove any wolves during 2008. Thirteen wolves died, the highest year end total of Mexican wolf deaths in the wild since the program began in 1998. Although 2003 saw more confirmed illegal shootings with seven, 2008 comes in second with five. That brings the total of illegally shot Mexican wolves to 30.
We may actually tie 2003 if the two deaths still under investigation are determined to be illegal shootings.

The meeting also included updates from field representatives of AZGFD and NMDGF. It currently appears that we have as many as eight pairs of Mexican wolves displaying denning behavior.

Proactive depredation prevention measures have been increased in both Arizona and New Mexico. These measures include fladry (fencing that wolves avoid), electric fencing, and more range riders. The Interagency Field Team, IFT, is also working to help livestock growers improve their husbandry practices. These measures include consolidating and changing calving times to coincide with elk caving season, providing winter hay and calving pastures and moving cows from wolf denning areas. In Cruzville, NM the IFT will provide a resident with chicken fencing and fladry. In the Gila Wilderness Area of New Mexico they are working with a resident to complete fencing and fladry for goats. The IFT is also providing residents in wolf pack territory with receivers to locate wolves and avoid interactions. The improved measures will include more incentives and interdiction money.

The IFT also spoke of increasing the population goal of Mexican wolves from 10% in 2009 to 20% in 2010. The audience response was overwhelmingly in favor of increasing the goal even further. They asked that the goal include at least four breeding pairs and be tied to the pup survival rate, which in past years has been dismal. Most wolf biologist agree that without a 34% pup survival rate the population is always in decline. One audience member spoke of the high level of illegal mortality. The poaching problems are dealt with at the federal level and we were informed that there have been large increases in the federal law enforcement team within the Mexican wolves territories in recent months.

A representative from the US Forest Service spoke about our efforts to modify the 10J rule, SOP 11 and SOP 13. The Conservation Assessment to identify problems is nearly finished and within the next four years, YES, I SAID FOUR YEARS!, we should begin moving toward a new recovery plan for the Mexican wolf reintroduction program.

At the request of AZGFD a slide show was presented at the May 27th AMWG meeting of SWECs proposal to bring the Gila Mexican Wolf Center to Silver City. The response from both the audience and the agency's was very positive to the economic and educational benefits this center would bring to our area. The educational component of the Mexican wolf reintroduction program is seen by many as the best avenue to success.

The next AMWG meeting is scheduled for Dec 9, 2009 in T or C, NM.
If anyone would care to join me at that meeting I can provide a carpool.

Excellent Column. What can the community here do to help facilitate the creation of the "Gila Mexican Wolf Center"?
4 Years!!!? I guess the Gov thinks if they move slow enough we'll forget about the wolves..... Lets not. Johncrow

Our apologies to those members wishing to post a reply here and were not able to. The "Post Reply" button now exists and works. Johncrow

In the interests of truth and accuracy, I would like to provide corrections and comments regarding Ms. Kaminski’s article about Mexican wolves.

“We brought these beautiful wolves to the very brink of extinction.”

I have asked many people – including those with the Mexican wolf program - to tell me how many Mexican wolves are in Mexico. No one has answered. I wonder if anyone knows? Without knowing, can anyone say truthfully that Mexican wolves were brought to the brink of extinction?

“There may have been thousands of them when we first drove cattle across the plains and into what would become New Mexico and Arizona.”

There may have been, but that is unlikely, given that the local wolves were Mogollon wolves. The Mexican wolf program will tell you, if directly asked, that the Mexican wolf recovery area is actually the extreme limit of the possible hunting (not denning) range of Mexican wolves (there is no definitive scientific evidence of Mexican wolf presence in the area). It is hard to imagine Mogollon wolves not protecting their territory. It’s more likely that there were occasional Mexican wolves here, and you bet they were being very, very careful about it.

“A trapper named McBride was sent to Mexico to find wolves there [in Mexico]. After several months he found only six, one pregnant female and five males”.

I have always thought how awful this history is for the Mexican wolf. Trapped and kidnapped from the place where they were born and lived wild, transported and kept in captivity in a non-native area, some dying, others bred and rebred in captivity (from one female!) so that their gene pool is extremely limited - how frightening for the original wolves. How miserable they must have been in captivity. What a horrible experience for those wolves and a shameful beginning for the Mexican wolf program.

“With these and others in zoos and wildlife centers across the US, which were genetically tested to be sure they were pure Mexican wolves, the captive breeding project began.”

Actually, from the information available on the Mexican wolf site and it would seem from Ms. Kaminski’s assertions just above, the original Mexican wolves captured in Mexico were the only Mexican wolves. There were none at that time in zoos and wildlife centers. Therefore, all Mexican wolves in captive breeding programs around the US are descended from the original prisoners. If I am incorrect about this, I would appreciate a link to documentation for such.

“Currently fifty-two of these roam freely in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area which is nearly 7000 square miles of public lands in Arizona and New Mexico. Every Mexican wolf alive today is in a stud book.”

Actually 52 collared wolves roam the area, and an unknown number of uncollared wolves are out there, too. The 7000 square miles of land includes private land as well, a fact that is conveniently overlooked so much of the time. Further, most of the uncollared wolves, if not all, are not in any stud book.

Hi, as I was reading the articles and comments I had an idea that I wonder if it has been considered. I seem to remember that running llamas, or some such creature, with sheep, alerted dogs, shepherds, etc. of the presence of wolves. Since we have a llama rescue place in Silver City, maybe there's the possibility that the owner of that facility would consider "adopting out" a couple of llamas (so they have company for each other?) to ranchers willing to try a 'natural' preventative.

Gale - good, but impractical thinking. A pack of wolves could easily kill llamas, donkeys, even livestock guardian dogs (LGDs), and they can and do kill the guardian animals before a livestock owner can do a thing about it. LGDs, when working in pairs or more, can sometimes keep wolves away, but more often, the wolves just overwhelm the LGDs and kill them - and they do it very quickly. This has been the sad experience at least in Catron County so far.

LGD breeders may not even offer to sell someone in this area a dog if the buyer plans on leaving them out to guard livestock. If I was a LGD, llama or donkey breeder, I know I wouldn't sell to someone who didn't bring their guardian animals in at night to protect them. Of course, that doesn't help the livestock much.

Wow. I had no idea. I guess, now that I remember, the use of such critters was in an article I read where the shepherd slept out in the hillside with the sheep and would waken with immediate trouble. Thanks for your response. Do you want the MN Volunteer Article? I did find the mag. on line, but the video that is of the story does not include any details about Mexican wolves, or about the woman doing the research with them. ??

Thank you Gale for your interest. Guardian animals will work, but not llamas. Llamas are ungulates and thus could fall prey to wolves. Ungulates are their natural prey. There is currently a rancher, the Schneberger ranch, who is raising a large breed dog which will be effective at keeping wolves from attacking livestock. The Interagency Field Team uses a wide variety of deterrents such as fladry, exclusionary fencing, range riders and improved husbandry methods which work very well. Our wolves now number 52 with 27 collared. 48 of them are wild born. With these deterrents and wild wolves born in livestock areas we currently see very few depredations of livestock. The up-to-date information on all depredations can be found at http://www.azgfd.com. This website contains the projects monthly reports which include depredations stats and population numbers.

delete

Nancy Kaminski: "There is currently a rancher, the Schneberger ranch, who is raising a large breed dog which will be effective at keeping wolves from attacking livestock."

I don't know the last time you talked to the Schnebergers, but I know that wolves have already killed one or more of their LGDs. I'll be seeing her tomorrow and will ask her about how the dog idea is working out.

"Nancy Kaminski: "There is currently a rancher, the Schneberger ranch, who is raising a large breed dog which will be effective at keeping wolves from attacking livestock."

cred "I don't know the last time you talked to the Schnebergers, but I know that wolves have already killed one or more of their LGDs. I'll be seeing her tomorrow and will ask her about how the dog idea is working out."

Did you find out how the dogs are working out?

~sandi

The facts seem to support the use of large dogs to discourage wolf depredations in wolf territories across the world.
Depredations of domestic animals by Mexican wolves in New Mexico are very few, less then 1% of cattle losses. Besides ranchers large dogs, the Interagency Field Team can provide our local ranchers with calving barns, several different types of fencing, and range riders, without cost to the livestock growers. Some New Mexico ranchers have refused any such offer. They refuse to cooperate in any way. They want the wolves gone, period.

I hear you, same old arguments I guess. i wanted to hear that those "specially bred" dogs were doing the job, Cred was suppose to have found out. I try to keep up but wasn't aware of the Interagency FT's offer of a solution and the refusals. Thanks Nancy for all you are doing to keep us informed, it is much appreciated.

~sandi

Below is a bit more info about our efforts to help livestock growers prevent wolf depredations. There is also a great deal of information about the wolves and depredations in my recent columns about our beautiful poster wolf Brunhilda's life.

The Adaptive Management Work Group presented us with the complete 2008 year end report on the Mexican wolf reintroduction project during the May 27, 2009 meeting in Pinetop, AZ. As you may recall the 2008 year end total was the same as 2007, fifty two wolves. In 2008 the wolves did very well raising pups, eleven of the eighteen puppies documented survived until 2009. The IFT did not remove any wolves during 2008. Thirteen wolves died, the highest year end total of Mexican wolf deaths in the wild since the program began in 1998. Although 2003 saw more confirmed illegal shootings with seven, 2008 comes in second with five. That brings the total of illegally shot Mexican wolves to 30. We could tie 2003 if the deaths yet to be determined are found to be shootings.

The meeting also included updates from field representatives of AZGFD and NMDGF. It currently appears that we have as many as eight pairs of Mexican wolves displaying denning behavior.

Proactive depredation prevention measures have been increased in both Arizona and New Mexico. These measures include fladry (fencing that wolves avoid), electric fencing, and more range riders. The Interagency Field Team, IFT, is also working to help livestock growers improve their husbandry practices. These measures include consolidating and changing calving times to coincide with elk caving season, providing winter hay and calving pastures and moving cows from wolf denning areas. In Cruzville, NM the IFT will provide a resident with chicken fencing and fladry. The IFT is also providing residents in wolf pack territory with receivers to locate wolves and avoid interactions. The improved measures will include more incentives and interdiction money.

The IFT also spoke of increasing the population goal of Mexican wolves from 10% in 2009 to 20% in 2010. The audience response was overwhelmingly in favor of increasing the goal even further. They asked that the goal include at least four breeding pairs and be tied to the pup survival rate, which in past years has been dismal. Most wolf biologist agree that without a 34% pup survival rate the population is always in decline. One audience member spoke of the high level of illegal mortality. The poaching problems are dealt with from the federal level and we were informed that there have been large increases in the federal law enforcement team within the Mexican wolves territories in recent months


June, 2009
Our own NM Game and Fish Department once again came to the rescue of the San Mateo packs #1114 Alpha Male Mexican wolf. Although this wolf has had depredations Game and Fish wants the wolf to stay put because he is helping to raise his litter of pups. Removing the Alpha male at such a time disrupts the pack and can cause the loss of all the puppies. The NMDGF also stated that proactive measures offered to the affected public lands grazing lessee were refused. There will be no removal, lethal or return to captivity, until the puppies are weaned and the lessee agrees to proactive measures to reduce the likelihood of future depredations. The IFT has used range riders, fladry, fencing and other proactive measures in both Arizona and New Mexico recently to effectively reduce wolf livestock depredations on other allotments within wolf territories.

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Comments at ispa@state.nm.us
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us

The end of this story is less then pleasant. In June two of the San Mateo pups were found dead. In an apparent effort to save her remaining puppies the Alpha Female moved the rest of her litter to another den. The puppies at the original den site fell into a deep crevice and were abandoned by the wolves after their coaxing failed to persuade the pups to crawl out. Another pup was found dead before the field team rescued the remaining two San Mateo pups to relocate them to Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge.

I met a lady at the farmer's market who was from South Africa, she had a Rodesion Ridgeback with her. She said they use them for keeping LIONS away from their grazing animals, very effectively.

Around 7 or 8 years ago I visited an organic goat cheese farm north of Pie Town, deep in the mountains of Catron County. They had a breed of dog called a Maremma. Two of these dogs went out with the goats every day and brought them back every night. While their neighbors were losing livestock to predators, the goat farm never lost a single animal.

Hey, has anyone used an Irish Wolfhound for discouraging wolves? I hear they're good at running off wolves because of their good chase stamina; not sure if they are truly predatory or not. I think a lot of the 'kill' has been bred out of them. What do you know, Nancy?

Thank you all for the wonderful thoughts on large dogs to deter livestock depredations. As I understand this issue, all of the large breed dogs are relatively effective. The local ranchers now using them have had no wolf depredations. Some breeds will be more effective because of their historical uses and some simply because of their size. Remember the Mexican wolf is the smallest wolf in North America. They are similar in size and color to coyotes, so any large dog would be useful. Many livestock growers in Catron County are working to responsibly care for their stock. The serious anti-wolf group is relatively small but very vocal.