50 Mexican Gray Wolves in the Wild...Up from 42!

Federal biologists count 50 Mexican wolves in wild

Feb. 1, 2011 07:41 PM
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Federal wildlife officials said Tuesday they have counted 50 endangered Mexican wolves on the Arizona-New Mexico border, up from 42 wolves a year earlier.

The Fish and Wildlife Service's southwest regional director, Benjamin Tuggle, said the figure from last month's annual survey includes 29 wolves in Arizona and 21 in New Mexico. Researchers determined there are two pairs of breeding wolves.

"We're pretty confident with this number and we're happy it's significantly better than last year's," Tuggle said.

Of the 50 wolves, federal biologists said 14 were wild-born pups that survived through the end of 2010 - double the number of pups from the 2009 count.

Environmental groups rarely agree so enthusiastically with federal wildlife managers, but both sides were pleased by the figures.

"It's obviously good news that the numbers have gone up," said Michael Robinson of the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity. "It reverses a very troubling trend over the previous four years, where the numbers either went down or were static. We remain concerned that the Mexican wolf is perilously in trouble, but it's much better to see these numbers."

In another development, federal biologists also announced that two adult wolves - a male and a female - were released last week into the Blue Range recovery area, which straddles the Arizona-New Mexico border. The female had been born in the wild but was brought to a captive breeding program.



Tuggle said it was the first release this year - "just one of the actions we are undertaking to increase the number of Mexican wolves on the ground."

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