Endangered Mexican gray wolf numbers on the rise
Still, tensions with ranchers who point to killings of cattle remain a problem
THE EDGE OF THE GILA WILDERNESS — A voice interrupted the crackle of the radio at base camp: “Starting pursuit.”
The rest of the team on the ground was anxious to hear those words after the low-flying helicopter crew had been working all morning to get close to one of the Mexican gray wolves that had been targeted as part of an annual survey of the endangered predators.
For months, crews combed the rugged mountains of the southwestern United States, tracking collared wolves and looking for evidence of new packs to build the most accurate picture possible of just how many wolves are roaming the wild in New Mexico and Arizona. The results of the painstaking effort were finally released Wednesday, revealing there are more wolves in the wild than at any time since federal wildlife managers initiated efforts to conserve the animals decades ago.
Since the first wolves were released in 1998, the program aimed at reestablishing the species across its historic range has had its share of fits and starts due to illegal shootings, courtroom battles and politics. The challenges are mounting as ranchers and rural residents say the situation for them has become untenable, as 2019 marked a record year for livestock kills.
Encouraging numbers
At least 163 wolves were counted during the recent survey. That marks a nearly 25 percent jump in the population from the previous year and puts wildlife managers about halfway to meeting the goal that has been set for declaring the species recovered.
Officials say the population has increased an average of 15 percent annually over the last decade, marking what they consider to be a healthy pace.
“This is the second year we have seen a significant increase in the wild population of Mexican wolves, a success that is directly tied to the science-based, on-theground management efforts of the Interagency Field Team,” said Amy Lueders, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southwest regional director.
The recent count found there were 42 packs in the wild and half of them had pups last spring. In all, about 90 pups were born last year and nearly 60 percent of them survived, beating the average survival rate for Mexican wolf pups.
The recovery team also placed 12 captive-born pups into five wild dens to boost the genetic variability of the wild population. The cross-fostering technique has been used for a few years now and appears to be paying off as four fostered wolves have survived to breeding age, resulting in multiple litters of pups born in the wild. Three more fostered wolves will reach breeding age this spring.
“You’ve got wild wolves raising those pups, teaching them to be wild rather than taking a captive adult that’s used to people and not used to killing and feeding itself. When you put those adults out in the wild, they’re the ones that tend to cause problems,” said Brady McGee, the Mexican gray wolf recovery coordinator. “The last few years, we’ve shied away from doing the adult releases for that reason and working more with the pups.”
‘Beyond frustrating’
No matter the number of wolves on the landscape, ranchers say the threat to their livelihood is becoming more dire. They point to the recent spike in the number of cattle kills.
In fact, 2019 marked a record with more livestock being killed than in any year since the first captive-bred wolves were released in 1998. Federal wildlife officials have been poring over the data to determine the reason for the increase and to develop potential strategies to reverse the upward trend.
Megan Richardson runs a cattle ranch with her husband near Beaverhead, in the heart of the wolf recovery zone. She said the predators have harassed her horses and that packs like to nibble on the back ends of her cattle, leaving them with open wounds.
Richardson and others believe there are more wolves in the wild than what the annual count turns up. She says she and her neighbors are the boots on the ground and see them regularly.
“Almost daily we pass volunteers who have the trackers who go out and track the wolves,” she said. “They won’t even stop and speak with us. It’s come to the point where it’s like they hate us, we hate them, they don’t want us there. We’re trying to survive and make a living and support our families, so it’s beyond frustrating.”
Audrey McQueen, a single mother of four young children, said her ranch southwest of Reserve has been hit hard over the last year as there are three packs that roam the mountainous area that includes her spread. She said her losses due to cattle and calf kills average about $50,000 annually, but it could be more than a year before ranchers see any money from the claims they file with a co-existence council set up to address some of the financial effects of the reintroduction.