By: Paxton Rizzo
“If you see wolves there, that wilderness is intact” – Paul Paquet
The Mexican Gray Wolf or the Mexican Wolf is simultaneously the most genetically distinct Gray Wolf subspecies in North America and the most endangered.[1] They are smaller than the Gray Wolf, standing only 28-32 inches at the shoulder and only weighing 50-80 pounds.[2] Most notably, Mexican Gray Wolves have coats of many intermingling colors, such as buff, rust, gray, and black; and unlike other North American Gray Wolves, solid coats of black or white do not exist within the sub-species.[3]
Historically, the Mexican Gray Wolf habitat ranged from the Mountains of Mexico, up into the states of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.[4] Today, in the U.S. there are recovery populations in New Mexico and Arizona.[5] In recent years, the United States wild population of Mexican Gray Wolf has faced problems with recovery and expansion.[6] Because only eleven individuals were released in 1998, when they were reintroduced to the wild, the genetic gene pool that exists in the wild today is limited, which could lead to inbreeding and an overall decline in genetics, if not addressed.[7] Additionally, the revision to the recovery program under the Endangered Species Act that was set up in 2015 included provisions that did not support the full and long term recovery of the species.[8]
Besides current programs that successfully add captive bred puppies to litters of wild mothers[9], technology has now improved to the point that artificial insemination is now an option in recovery efforts in the Mexican Gray Wolf recovery program.[10] This development is encouraging because it means an additional source of genes can be introduced to the remaining members of the species. Utilizing every source of genes available is essential, since in 2017 there were only 130 Mexican Gray Wolves left in the wild and 220 left in managed care.[11] With the ability to artificially inseminate, conservationists are able to take semen samples collected twenty years ago and utilize those genetic sequences to increase gene diversity in today’s population.[12]
Other technological discoveries have helped to solidify the Mexican Gray Wolf’s distinction as very distinct sub-species of the Gray wolf.[13] A year long study conducted out of Florida State University has indicated that the Mexican Gray Wolf is in fact a distinct sub-species.[14] This research was done since there was enough evidence in the genome of the wolves to suggest that the animals that existed today were not purely Mexican Gray Wolves but Mexican Wolves that had hybridized with other canid species.[15]
Legally the Mexican Gray Wolves are fairing well as well, after a Federal Judge Decided in March 2018 that the provisions set out in Fish and Wildlife Services new plan in the10(j) rule of the 2015 revision of the Endangered Species Act failed to further the conservation of the species.[16] The court concluded that the 10(j) rule only provided for short-term survival of the species and did not consider the long-term recovery of the wolves in the wild.[17] Some limits of the rule were as follows: arbitrary limits to the Mexican Wolves population numbers, a ban on them from needed recovery habitat limiting them to south of I-40, and loosening of the rules against killing the wolves in the wild.[18]
In 2019, Fish and Wildlife Services assisted in introducing twelve captive born puppies to the wild litters to introduce new genes to the wild gene pool.[19] With steadily increasing population numbers and increasing puppy survival, Fish and Wildlife Services are hopeful that the Mexican Gray Wolf subspecies will recover.[20] They emphasize the importance of ongoing support and research in those efforts.[21]
image source: https://defenders.org/sites/default/files/styles/meta_image/public/2019-04/mexican_gray_wolf_rebecca_bose_wolf_conservation_center_header.jpg?itok=yzhKWVY1
[1] See What is a Mexican Wolf, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/aboutwolf.html.
[2] See id.
[3] See id.
[4] See id.
[5] See Andrew Howard, Mexican gray wolf numbers rise, but long-term viability still a concern, Arizona PBS: Cronkite News (Apr. 8, 2018), https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2019/04/08/mexican-gray-wolf-numbers-rise-but-long-term-viability-still-a-concern/.
[6] See id.
[7] See id.; See Mexican Wolf Recovery Efforts, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/Recovery.html.
[8] See Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Jewell, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56436, *65-*66.
[9] See Mexican Wolf Recovery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/.
[10] See Patrick Clark, New reproductive technology being used to save Mexican Gray Wolf species, Fox 2 now: Saint Louis (Apr 24, 2017), https://fox2now.com/2017/04/24/new-reproductive-technology-being-used-to-save-the-mexican-gray-wolf-species/.
[11] See id.
[12] See id.
[13] See Heather Athey, Report: Red wolves, Mexican gray wolves are distinct species, subspecies, Florida State University News (Apr. 1, 2019).
[14] See id.
[15] See id.
[16] See Ctr. for Biological Diversity, 2018 U.S. Dist. *65 -*66
[17] See id.
[18] See Court Rejects Flawed Mexican Gray Wolf Rule: Ruling Rejects Measures That Hurt, Instead of Help, Rare Wolves, Center for Biological Diversity (Apr. 2, 2018), https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2018/mexican-gray-wolf-04-02-2018.php.
[19] See supra note 10.
[20] See id.
[21] See id.