Once on the brink of extinction in North America, the rarest subspecies of gray wolf has seen its numbers almost doubling in the last five years, with further increases anticipated in 2020, according to US wildlife managers.

According to the most recent annual survey, at least 186 Mexican gray wolves live in the wild in New Mexico and Arizona. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, this is the fifth year in a row that the endangered species' population has expanded.

Mexican Gray Wolves

Mexican wolves were reintroduced to the American Southwest more than two decades ago. Environmentalists, local communities, and habitat managers have been pitted against one another as a result of the program's management, which has resulted in many court challenges. The most recent situation concerns a rewrite of the agency's animal management strategy.

Judicial filings contained some information from the survey conducted during the winter.

Environmentalists voiced concern about the numbers but cautioned that the wolves' future was also in jeopardy.

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Coexist with Humans

According to Bryan Bird, director of Defenders of Wildlife's Southwest initiative, ensuring that wolves and humans will coexist will continue to be an integral part of the species' long-term recovery. He shared confidence that the federal government would prioritize wolf recovery.

"While seeing an uptick in wolves is promising, limited genetic diversity and high rates of illegal killing continue to stymie conservation efforts," he said. "There is still work to be done to create a self-sustaining Mexican gray wolf population," says the author.

More rigorous protections for wolves are required, according to Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, as well as more successful releases from captivity into the wild.

Meanwhile, ranchers and rural communities in the mountainous areas of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, where the wolves roam, believe cattle deaths due to predation are on the rise.

Unlike wolf reintroductions in Yellowstone and the northern United States, wildlife authorities in the Southwest are dealing with an ecosystem that encourages a year-round calving season, which means livestock-wolf clashes are ongoing rather than seasonal.

Despite attempts to scare them away with range riders on horseback or flagging near fence lines, ranchers say the wolves are getting bolder. Feeding caches are also used by the wolf recovery team to drive wolves away from animals.

Population Growth

According to the most recent study, there were 114 wolves in New Mexico and 72 in Arizona, up 14% from the previous year. The wolf recovery team recorded a roughly 25% growth in population in 2019.

Service to Fish and Wildlife Around half of the 124 pups born in 2020 survived, according to Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator Brady McGee. Mexican wolf pups have a 50 percent chance of survival.

Pup Protection

"Pup development and recruitment in the wild population are crucial for the species' recovery. In a tweet, he said, "We are delighted to see this number continue to grow."

In 2020, the wolf recovery team will release 20 captive-born pups into seven wild dens as part of a cross-fostering experiment aimed at increasing genetic diversity in the population. Seven of the pups have since been caught and collared, according to officials, and attempts to decide how many survived wills continue this year.

In 2020, there were still marginally more packs roaming than the previous year. There were about 20 breeding pairs of pups.

In 2020, the recovery team reported 29 wolf deaths. Many of these cases are still being reviewed, and authorities seldom share any more.

Radio collars are used by wildlife managers to monitor the wolves and offer timely reports on their location and actions, which may assist in population control. Collars have been attached to over 100 wolves.

The Mexican wolf was once widespread in the United States Southwest and northern Mexico, but by the 1970s, it had all but disappeared, causing the US government to establish a captive breeding policy. About 350 Mexican wolves can be held in over 55 zoos and other facilities throughout the United States and Mexico.

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