Mexican wolf numbers are roughly stagnant

Here is the latest news on the beleaguered Mexican wolf restoration project, written by Jean Ossorio, a New Mexican, long active in Mexican wolf recovery.  Many thanks to her for this valuable information.

By Jean Ossorio

Control actions authorized by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service against two New Mexico wolf packs have resulted in the lethal control of one wolf and the recapture of three adults and four pups, according to the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program Monthly report for June 1-30, released this week by the wolf project managers. The alpha male of the Francisco pack was caught in a leg hold trap on June 18, causing a compound fracture of his leg, and its subsequent amputation. His mate, AF511, the poster wolf of the reintroduction program, and the last of the original 11 wolves released in Arizona in 1998 to remain in the wild, was captured on June 23, along with her four surviving pups of the year. Several depredations on cattle grazing on the Gila National Forest led to the control action.

Project personnel shot the alpha male of the Ring Pack, also because of his involvement in four cattle depredations in the same general area on June 26. His mate and pups of the year are under a non-lethal control order, as a result of her involvement in two confirmed depredations. Project personnel are attempting to trap them, so far without success.

Translocations barely keep up with removals-

On June 13, project personnel re-released the San Mateo pack, removed from New Mexico for establishing a territory outside the artificial boundary of the recovery area, into the Apache National Forest in Arizona. This translocation added two collared wolves to the population on the ground, as well as three uncollared pups.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Aspen Pack, removed for a handful of nuisance incidents in Arizona, were released into the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico. The adult pair and one yearling are radio-collared. This pack also contains three pups.

Numbers far below projections in the 1996 Environmental Impact Statement-

The number of collared wolves in the wild at the end of June was 22, one more than the number reported at the end of May, and five fewer than the 27 collared wolves in the wild when the Three-Year Review Scientific Report was released in the spring of 2001. The monthly report no longer contains an estimate of the total number of wolves in the wild, claiming that “[e]stimates of uncollared wolves are best made from an accumulation of data gather (sic) throughout the year. Therefore, the annual estimate for uncollared wolves of 2005 will be provided in the January 2006 monthly update.”

The last estimate of the total number of wolves appeared in the April 2005 update—approximately 49-54. With the removal of three adults in the Francisco Pack, and the Ring Pack alpha male, that number has probably dropped to fewer than 50. The number of packs will have been reduced to eight, once the Ring Pack alpha female is trapped and removed. For comparison, the 1996 EIS projected approximately 68 wolves in the wild at the end of the sixth year of the program, and a total of 15 breeding pairs.
One small glimmer of hope lies in the fact that on June 18, project personnel documented two adult wolves and at least two pups in the northeastern portion of the recovery area. They are attempting to catch and collar at least one pack member. A note of caution is in order, however, as the northeastern portion of the recovery area was one of two “sink” areas documented in the Five-Year Review, with excess losses of wolves primarily due to mortalities, boundary related removals, and cattle related removals. One can only wish this new pack good luck in somewhat inhospitable surroundings.

Old, successful pack may be winking out-

One other item in the latest update deserves attention. The alpha female of the Hawk’s Nest Pack, one of the three original packs released into the wild, and the only one with an unbroken presence in the wild since 1999, has not been located since May 24. It is possible that her collar has gone dead through battery failure. Her mate, AM619, was last documented on October 4, 2004, and was listed as “fate unknown” in the January 2005 update. This successful pack produced several litters of pups over the years, although they rarely seemed to localize and den. They also managed to stay out of trouble with cattle and humans. I’ll be especially sad to see them vanish from the wild, as they are the pack that entertained me with nearly constant howling for over two hours last October, while I was camped near Lake Sierra Blanca in Arizona.
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Here are links to the two most recent reports on Mexican wolves. . . . Ralph Maughan

1. Mexican wolf update. Francisco Pack ordered lethally controlled. May 12 (with updates)

2. Francisco Pack's alpha male injured during trapping. June 21 (with one update)