Steady Growth in 4 Mexican Population is Cause for Optimism Isle Royale: the 62-Year 9 Wolf Study Begins WolfQuest: Virtual , 12 Real Wolf Ecology What Fate Awaits 16 Wild Wolf Pups? Steady Growth in Mexican Wolf Population is Cause for Optimism

By AISLINN MAESTAS

ust as the begins to peek from of the Interagency Field Team (IFT), behind the mountains, trucks begin a group comprising federal, state, tribal Jpulling off the highway onto a dirt and international partners, gather for a road. They make their way to a trailer briefing promptly at 0630. Crews and that sits nestled in a forest clearing, locations are confirmed. Radios are given converted to workspace for biologists. one last check for batteries. By 0700, The morning air is cool and brisk; yes- crews roll out to their destinations. terday’s mud has turned to ice, and It’s time to go count, and maybe boots crunch against it as people begin capture, wolves. to organize for the day. Up the hill from the clearing, a pilot An Upward Trend prepares his helicopter for the day’s flight. The annual Mexican wolf count is Fuel is loaded and checks are completed. an integral part of the Mexican Wolf The crew conducts a safety briefing and Recovery Program. By providing infor- reviews targets for the day. The gunner mation about the minimum number of (who darts with tranquilizer), wolves, packs, breeding pairs and pups the mugger (who subdues the animals in the wild, the count tracks progress for collaring) and the pilot load into the toward the recovery goals for the endan- aircraft. The radio tower gives them the gered subspecies. Since reintroduction okay—and up they go, eventually dis- efforts began in 1998, the population appearing from the horizon. has grown from zero wolves in the wild Back at the clearing, utility task vehi- to a minimum of 163 in 2019. cles (UTVs) and crates are loaded onto “The latest count shows we have flatbed trailers and truck beds. Bags more wolves, more breeding pairs and of supplies are checked, re-checked more pups born in the wild than ever and then loaded into four-wheel-drive before,” says Amy Lueders, regional trucks. Inside a small office, dart mak- director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ers carefully measure out exact doses of Service in Albuquerque, New . the tranquilizing drug Telezol. Members “This is the second year we have seen a

4 Fall 2020 www.wolf.org The latest count shows we have more wolves, more breeding pairs and more pups born in the wild than ever before. Adobe Stock / Richard

International Wolf Fall 2020 5 significant increase in the wild popula- survival of both adults and pups. However, “Recovery of a top predator like the tion of Mexican wolves, a success directly as John Oakleaf, field project coordinator Mexican wolf is complex, controversial tied to the science-based, on-the-ground for the service’s Mexican Wolf Recovery and challenging,” says Oakleaf. “Most of management efforts of the Interagency Program explains, long-term trends what I do is work with people to reduce Field Team.” matter more than individual years. challenges and find solutions to conflicts. Between 2018 and 2019, the num- “Yearly variation in population growth Just as we are working to increase the ber of wolves in the wild grew by 24 rates is inherent in all wildlife, but what number of wolves in the wild, we must percent. According to the IFT, the 163 is important for Mexican wolf recovery also work to increase support for the wolves are distributed with 76 in is that the overall pattern is a growing wolves in Arizona and .” and 87 in New Mexico. At the end of population of wolves that leads toward 2018, the IFT documented a minimum the recovery goal of 320 [Mexican] The Loss and the of 131 wolves—a 12 percent increase wolves in the .” Return of Mexican from 2017. The population has increased In comparison to other wolf recovery an average of 15 percent annually over efforts, a minimum of 163 wolves in the Wolves in the Wild the last 10 years. wild may not seem like much progress The Mexican wolf, the smallest and The 2019 count also showed increases after 22 years, but when species are rarest subspecies of gray wolf, once in the number of breeding pairs and reintroduced from captivity, like these roamed throughout portions of Arizona, pups. A minimum of 21 packs had pups Mexican wolves, populations often grow New Mexico, and Mexico. As (compared to 18 in 2018); 19 of these more slowly than when reintroduction human settlement intensified across the packs had pups that survived to the end of wild wolves or natural recolonization Southwest in the early 1900s, wolves of the year. In addition, at least 90 pups takes place. increasingly came into conflict with were born in 2019 (compared to 81 in This is due to several factors. One is livestock operations. Extermination cam- 2018), and at least 52 survived to the the lack of learned knowledge in animals paigns were waged against the wolf, and end of the year—a 58 percent survival. reintroduced from captivity. Skills like by the 1970s, the Mexican wolf had This exceeds the average rate of about caring for young and fearing humans are been all but eliminated from the United 50 percent. difficult to teach to captive-born wolves. States and Mexico. The 2019 jump in Mexican wolf It takes generations for wild wolves to In 1976, however, a new era dawned numbers is not unique. In 2001, there was learn and pass on the knowledge they for the Mexican wolf when it was listed a 36 percent increase in the population; need to survive in the wild. A second as endangered under the Endangered 2015 saw a 27 percent increase. It is challenge has been educating humans Species Act. Between 1977 and 1982, not clear why greater growth occurs in within the Mexican Wolf Experimental recovery of the Mexican wolf began as some years than others. It is likely due Population Area. to a combination of higher-than-average

In 1998, 11 captive- raised Mexican wolves were released to the wild for the first time. In 2002, the birth of the first wild-born litter from a wild-born parent occurred. From that point forward, Mexican wolf recovery entered a new phase. USFWS Jim Clark

6 Fall 2020 www.wolf.org During the wolf count, an anesthetized wolf is carefully transported for examination, vaccination, blood testing, measurements and fitting with a tracking collar before being returned to its territory for release.

Each morning, target packs and target wolves are identified for count and capture. At the top of the list are packs with no GPS/VHF collars, followed closely by wolves with failing collars. GPS/VHF collars are one of the most essential tools in the management of wild wolves. Not only are they used to track the movements of individuals and packs, but they also let the IFT know when wolves are denning (and pups are being whelped) and when a mortality has occurred. GPS/VHF collars also Mexican Interagency Wolf Field Team help the IFT manage wolves to prevent depredations of cattle through a variety of non-lethal techniques (e.g., hazing wolves The Anatomy of a Wolf Count and providing diversionary food caches to avoid depredations). The Mexican wolf count has been conducted in some form since Two aircraft are used in the count and capture. A spotter plane 1998. However, more comprehensive efforts were initiated in locates the day’s target wolves. Once the spotter plane has a 2006 to make every year-end population count more accurate, location, it is relayed to the helicopter. When the helicopter consistent and repeatable. finds a pack, the helicopter crew counts the number of wolves in the pack from the air. If a target wolf is located, and if the The year-end population count is derived from data gathered surrounding terrain accommodates a capture, the gunner will through a variety of methods over several months. From attempt to dart the wolf from the air. November through January, members of the IFT conduct ground counts in Arizona and New Mexico. During this phase, After a wolf has been darted and anesthetized, the helicopter wolf sign (i.e. tracks, scats) are documented by driving roads will land and the gunner and mugger will retrieve the and hiking canyons, trails or other areas closed to motor anesthetized wolf. There is a quick check of vital signs before vehicles. Confirmation of non-collared wolves is achieved via it is carried back to the helicopter to be loaded. Once crew visual observation, remote cameras, howling, scats and tracks. and wolf are safely secured, the helicopter transports the wolf Ground-survey results for suspected packs having no collared to the nearest ground crew for processing. The processing members are documented using GPS and GIS software and crew works quickly to examine the wolf, administer vaccines, hardware. GPS locations are recorded and downloaded into draw blood, take body measurements and fit it with a tracking GIS software for analysis and mapping. Survey data are also collar. The wolf is then crated and monitored while the drug recorded daily on forms and compiled in a database. wears off. Once the is ready to be released, it is loaded onto a truck, UTV or even a snowmobile to be taken back to In January and February, aircraft are used to document and its territory. count free-ranging wolves, and to capture wolves to affix GPS/ VHF radio telemetry collars. For this part of the count, dozens Once aerial operations conclude, all the data from the count of staff, contractors, volunteers and interns rotate in and out to are analyzed and reviewed. The final tally is released in the assist, train and observe. It is organized chaos at its finest. spring of the following year. the United States and Mexico established Arizona and Gila National Forest in Today, the wild population of Mexican a bi-national captive-breeding program, western New Mexico were identified wolves is managed by the U.S. Fish and beginning with just seven animals, to as appropriate areas for reintroduction. Wildlife Service in collaboration with save the species from extinction and In 1998, 11 captive-raised Mexican the Arizona Game and Fish Department, provide animals for future reintroduc- wolves were released to the wild for New Mexico Department of Game and tions to the wild. the first time within a range called the Fish, USDA Forest Service, USDA APHIS As the captive Mexican wolf pro- Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Wildlife Services, White Mountain Apache gram demonstrated increasing success Area in New Mexico and Arizona. In Tribe, Bureau of Land Management, the through the 1980s, attention turned to 2002, the birth of the first wild-born U.S. National Park Service and several reintroducing the animal to its historical litter from a wild-born parent occurred. participating counties. habitat. Management activities during the From that point forward, Mexican wolf 1990s included public-opinion surveys, recovery entered a new phase in which A Long Road to public meetings, site feasibility studies natural reproduction slowly and steadily and surveys for areas that would support began to reduce the need to release cap- Recovery naturally occurring wolves. Eventually, tive-reared wolves in order to promote In November 2017, the U.S. Fish and the Apache National Forest in eastern population growth. Wildlife Service completed the Mexican

International Wolf Fall 2020 7 Wolf Recovery Plan, First Revision. The (less than two weeks old) captive-born SSP has steadily expanded and currently recovery plan charts a path forward for Mexican wolf pups into a litter of simi- houses more than 350 wolves in approxi- the Mexican wolf that can be accom- larly aged wild-born pups—to improve mately 55 facilities in the United States modated within the species’ historical the genetic diversity of the wild popu- and Mexico. Mexican wolves are rou- range in the Southwestern United States lation. In 2019, 12 captive-born pups tinely transferred among the zoos and and Mexico. It includes measurable, were cross-fostered into wild dens. A other SSP holding facilities to facilitate objective criteria for downlisting and record 20 captive-born pups were cross- genetic exchange, thus maintaining the delisting. Criteria include (1) reaching a fostered into wild packs in 2020, and health and genetic diversity of the cap- population average of 320 wolves in the more cross-fostering efforts are planned. tive population. U.S. for eight consecutive years, and (2) “It is only through the dedicated achieving a genetic diversity goal of at Management of Captive support by our federal, state, tribal and least 22 Mexican wolves released since Mexican Wolves local partners that we continue mak- December 2015 that survive to breeding ing progress in Mexican wolf recovery,” The captive population of Mexican age (usually 2-3 years of age). says Brady McGee, Mexican wolf recov- wolves is managed under the Association There are also recovery goals for the ery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and of Zoos and Aquariums through the population in Mexico, where federal Wildlife Service. “We are on this path Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan agencies initiated a reintroduction effort together, adapting and adjusting course (Mexican Wolf SSP). This captive man- in 2011 pursuant to Mexico’s federal as needed, to achieve our shared goal agement program is an essential compo- laws and regulations. of one day removing the Mexican wolf nent of Mexican wolf recovery. With a minimum of 163 Mexican from the list of .” n The Mexican Wolf SSP was devel- wolves in the wild in the U.S. and oped from 1977 to 1980 with the cap- approximately 30 in Mexico, it will likely ture of the last remaining wild Mexican Aislinn Maestas is a public affairs take 25-35 years to achieve recovery for wolves in Mexico. As part of the bi- specialist with the United States the subspecies. In the immediate future, Fish and Wildlife Service. national captive breeding program, the the IFT plans to continue using cross- fostering—the process of placing young

With a minimum of 163 Mexican wolves in the wild in the U.S. and approximately 30 in Mexico, it will likely take 25–35 years to achieve recovery for the subspecies. Mexican Interagency Wolf Field Team

8 Fall 2020 www.wolf.org