Wolf News

06
Dec

In the News: Mexican wolf plan favors release of captive pups


Up to a dozen Mexican wolf pups could be cross-fostered with wild packs in Arizona and New Mexico next year under a plan put out by wildlife managers Monday.

Released each winter, the plan details translocations and releases of captive wolves proposed for that year. Those actions are vital to increasing the wolves’ genetic diversity and making progress toward the recovery of the endangered species. An updated plan establishing a recovery goal of 320 wolves in the wild was released by federal wildlife officials last week.

The most recent annual count found at least 113 Mexican wolves living in the forests in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, but the animals are as related to one another as full siblings.

The process of cross-fostering involves placing captive-born wolf pups that represent valuable genetic diversity into wild dens with similarly aged pups so the mother raises them as her own. The process has shown some initial success, with at least 12 cross-fosters taking place since 2014. It’s projected that just a third of those pups will make it to breeding age though, based on past survival rates.

The release plan for next year does not include the release of adult wolves from captivity into the wild, a strategy considered necessary by many wolf advocates. The release of two wolf packs from captivity that was planned for this year didn’t happen either.

The release of adult wolves has drawn strong opposition from wildlife officials in Arizona, who say they disproportionately come into conflict with livestock and humans. In 2015 the Arizona Game and Fish Commission voted to oppose all new releases of adult wolves.

While it supports cross-fostering, the commission voted to limit them to six per year based on staff capacity to perform the process, said Jim deVos, assistant director of wildlife management for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

But even 12 cross fosters that are authorized for this year are “utterly insufficient” to address the genetic emergency that the wild Mexican wolf population is facing at this point, said Michael Robinson, with the Center for Biological Diversity.

“It’s pretty dire,” Robinson said.

Robinson calculated that 52 pups were born in the wild in 2017. Assuming the same number are born in 2018 and wolf managers are successful in cross-fostering 12 more pups from captivity, less than one in four of that cohort of wild-born wolves would be able to eventually pair with a suitable, genetically distinct mate, Robinson said.

Robinson said cross-fostering is still experimental and questioned why the pups’ captive parents can’t be released with them. That would immediately put more genetically diverse, breeding wolves into the wild, instead of having to wait for the pups to mature, he said.

He disputes reports that adult wolves released from captivity are more problematic.

In addition to cross-fostering, the interagency team of wolf managers is considering temporarily removing and artificially inseminating a particular female to prevent her from mating with her brother.

Both deVos and Robinson said they support that move. DeVos said artificial insemination, if it works, would be a “huge advance” for Mexican wolf recovery.

But the fact that it has gotten to the point where a brother and a sister are about to mate is a bad sign for the wolves, Robinson said. He cited a study of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park that found the animals deliberately avoid inbreeding. The fact that a brother and sister are trying to pair then, suggests these Mexican wolves “really didn’t have any other choices,” Robinson said.

This article was published in the Arizona Daily Sun
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Show your support for Mexican wolves with a Letter to the Editor today!

The letters to the editor page is one of the most widely read, influential parts of the newspaper. One letter from you can reach thousands of people and will also likely be read by decision-makers.  Tips for writing your letter are below, but please write in your own words, from your own experience.  Don’t try to include all the talking points in your letter.


Letter Writing Tips & Talking Points
  • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should include family groups in their release plan. Recovery won’t succeed unless they use all tools available to them, including the proven method of releasing family groups that include adult wolves.
  • Cross fostering is one tool for improving the wild population’s genetic health, but it’s not enough.  Many more wolves should be released this year from the hundreds in captive breeding programs.  Rather than relying solely on cross-fostering, the Service should also release adults and families of wolves from captivity.
  • Cross fostered pups will not contribute genetically to the wild population until they reach breeding age (2 years).  The release of adults from the captive breeding program would result in a faster infusion of new genetics into the wild population.
  • The wild population of Mexican wolves is at tremendous risk due to its small size and genetics.  There are hundreds of wolves in the captive breeding program whose genes are not represented in the wild population.
  • If captive pups were to be released with their parents, that would immediately put more genetically diverse, breeding wolves into the wild, instead of having to wait for the pups to reach breeding age and mate, which would take two or more years.
Make sure you:

“¢ Thank the paper for publishing the article

“¢ Submit your letter as soon as possible. The chance of your letter being published declines after a day or two since the article was published

“¢ Do not repeat any negative messages from the article, such as “so and so said that wolves kill too many cows, but”¦”  Remember that those reading your letter will not be looking at the article it responds to, so this is an opportunity to get out positive messages about wolf recovery rather than to argue with the original article

“¢ Keep your letter brief, under 250 words

“¢ Include something about who you are and why you care: E.g. “I am a mother, outdoors person, teacher, business owner, scientific, religious, etc.”

“¢ Provide your name, address, phone number, and address.  The paper won’t publish these, but they want to know you are who you say you are.

Submit your letter to the editor of the Arizona Daily Sun
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The wolf release plan will be open for public comment until Dec. 26.
Comments can be emailed to: mexicanwolfcomments@fws.gov

or mailed to:
Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, Attn: 2017 Proposed Releases in NM
2105 Osuna Rd NE
Albuquerque, N.M.  87113

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