Free These Wild-born Wolves!

F1105 and F1108: Re-release candidates of the week!
 
Female Mexican gray wolf in captivity. Photo courtesy of Jean Ossorio.
 
With fewer than 40 Mexican wolves, excluding pups, still in the wild, it’s time for the Fish and Wildlife Service to re-release F1105 and F1108, this week’s re-release candidates. These sisters were born in the wild in 2007. They were taken into captivity as pups, along with the rest of the Aspen Pack, when their parents were removed from the wild for livestock depredations. Both these female Mexican gray wolves are eligible for release into New Mexico.

You can help free these wolves from captivity by sending a very brief e-mail to FWS Region 2 Director Benjamin Tuggle. Simply copy and paste the message below into an email, and add a simple sentence or two of your own. Please add your name and address at the end, because anonymous letters get little attention. Remember, too, that polite requests are more effective.
 
Dear Dr. Tuggle,
I am alarmed at how few Mexican gray wolves remain in the wild and I know that there are wild-born wolves in captivity that are eligible for New Mexico releases. Please re-release former Aspen pups F1105 and F1108, if they prove to be suitable candidates for release. They have been in captivity long enough; it’s time for them to be free, wild wolves again.
 
Thank you,
 
Send your e-mail to Director Benjamin Tuggle at RDTuggle@fws.gov.

Let him know you want F1054 and F1055 to be free, wild wolves again.

BACKGROUND: The wild population of Mexican gray wolves, excluding this year’s pups, stands at fewer than 42 animals. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is prohibited from releasing Mexican gray wolves directly from captivity into New Mexico, according to the Final Rule governing the reintroduction. Roughly two-thirds of the available habitat for the lobos lies east of the Arizona state line in the Gila National Forest, but only about half of the wolves in the wild are currently in New Mexico.

The Fish and Wildlife Service did re-release one wild-born wolf into New Mexico this year, but unfortunately, she was found dead a few months after her release. There are at least nine more wild-born wolves that are eligible for New Mexico releases. All nine have been waiting patiently in captive breeding facilities for their chance to be wild wolves again, some for as long as three to five years! Not every one of these wolves may be physically, genetically, or temperamentally suitable for re-release, but those that are suitable should get their chance at freedom, while contributing to the growth of the wild population.

We will feature the stories of these nine lobos each week for the next several weeks. You can help encourage the Fish and Wildlife Service to release each of these wolves that is suitable for release by emailing Dr. Tuggle.

Check back next week for our next re-release candidate of the week. Thanks for your help!