Mexican gray wolves increase
Environmental groups warn genetic diversity is lacking
ALBUQUERQUE — The wild population of Mexican gray wolves in the southwestern U.S. is growing, but environmental groups are warning inbreeding and the resulting genetic crisis within the endangered species will continue to be a threat to long-term survival.
The warning came Tuesday as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and wildlife agencies in Arizona and New Mexico announced the results of an annual survey, saying there were at least 257 wolves roaming parts of the two states. That’s 15 more than the year before and the most reported in the wild since the reintroduction program began more than 25 years ago.
While it marks the eighth straight year the population has increased, environmentalists say the higher number is not necessarily a positive development. They contend it means only that the genetic crisis among Mexican gray wolves will get harder to fix as the population grows.
“The agencies will claim this new benchmark shows a trajectory to success, but they aren’t measuring the indicators of genetic diversity which must be addressed with improved policies around adult and family group releases,” Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project, said in a statement.
Environmental groups have been pushing for years to get the federal government to release more captive wolves into the wild and to revisit policies that have constrained the population within boundaries that they consider arbitrary. Wolves that wander north of Interstate 40 are captured and either taken back to the wolf recovery zone or placed into captivity, where they might be matched with potential mates.
Federal and state wildlife officials who have been working to restore Mexican wolves to the Southwest argue genetic management using pups from captivity is showing results. Since 2016, nearly 99 captive-born pups have been placed into 40 wild dens as a way to broaden the genetic pool.
According to the survey, at least 15 fostered wolf pups have survived to breeding age over the past year, and at least 10 fostered wolves have successfully bred and produced litters in the wild.