Project Coyote Science Advisor, wildlife biologist and former US Fish & Wildlife Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator Dave Parsons and Mexican Wolf Recovery Consultant and former National Park Service Wilderness Coordinator Kim Crumbo discuss Mexican gray wolf recovery in the Southwest. Topics will include the wolves’ current status as well as opportunities to get involved in efforts to help this iconic and highly endangered species.
As explained in our recent Notes from the Field, the Mexican gray wolf is the most endangered gray wolf in North America. It is the southernmost subspecies of gray wolf and formerly ranged throughout the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico. Like other gray wolves in the lower 48 U.S. states, it was persecuted to near extinction by the mid-1900s. In 1976, the Mexican gray wolf was placed on the list of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.
While the increasing number of Mexican wolves in the wild is encouraging, many problems persist that continue to threaten their survival. These include severe genetic inbreeding, excessive human-caused mortality by both poachers and the agency managers (the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the States), and political opposition to the recovery effort primarily from the States and hunting and livestock interests.