Federal wildlife managers released 11 critically endangered Mexican wolf pups into the wild, injecting a much-needed genetic boost to an otherwise limited genetic pool.
This effort is part of the US Fish and Wildlife Service Mutual Adoption Program It mixes puppies born in captivity and the wild as mother wolves give birth in the spring.
While the adoption process involves many agencies and detailed planning, the concept is straightforward. Captive-bred wolves are removed from their dens at birth and placed in alternative wild families.
But working on the ground can be tricky. Wildlife managers must remove the pups from their biological families, nurse them during transport, collect blood samples for further research and then place them in wild dens, sometimes with adult wolves inside.
It is done to help the population thrive. Genetic diversity is an important measure of the success of the Mexican wolf recovery program. With only seven founding individuals present, the species has a critically low gene pool. According to some genetic research, every Mexican wild wolf is nearly as closely related as siblings.
The federal agency, along with state wildlife managers, has introduced crossed pups to wild dens since 2014. Last year, teams released 22 captive pups into the wild. Because their population has been selectively bred, the pups bring in a higher genetic diversity.
Wildlife biologists say the future of both Mexican wolves and recovery plans to save them depend on such injections of fresh blood. More genetic diversity means more resilience and adaptability in the face of climate and environmental change.
“We have all coordinated together to work towards a common goal, just as we have been in previous years,” said John O’Cliff, Mexican Wolf Field Projects Coordinator at USFWS. “I think we are doing a tremendous job. The one thing that was different this year from previous years was that All of the cross-reinforcements happened in a 15-day window. So it was a really narrow window to work.”
Where do puppies come from?
O’Cliff said wolves are run on the ground between state, federal and tribal partners. But zoos and conservation programs from around the country, including the Chicago Zoo and the Wolf Conservation Center in New York, have helped breed.
The pups were housed in five wild groups over a three-week period in the Mexican wolf experimental area, within a tightly enforced boundary south of Interstate 40 that stretches through the Apache-Sitgraves National Forest in Arizona and the Gila National Forest in New Mexico.
The process begins during the summer when wildlife managers select captive breeding pairs based on the Mexican wolf’s species survival plan and software developed to manage the species, according to Maggie Howell, executive director of the Wolf Conservation Center. The best couples have low inbreeding coefficients.
What comes next is up to the wolves. Pairs are placed in containers together and if there is chemistry, they will mate.
This is the second year that the New York-based Conservation Center has participated in the program. She managed to save a puppy, a female named Crumpo, after conservationist Kim Crumpo, who mysteriously disappeared in Yellowstone National Park last fall.
“He was just a huge proponent of bringing back life and preserving empathy,” Howell said. “A great ambassador that everyone can stand behind and root for and bring hope to the program itself and hopefully rebuild our world, some hearts and minds.”
Near the house, the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale presented Groene. Of the five partners, the center was the only trash that went to the Arizona package.
The Southwest Center has been part of the species’ survival program for years, but most of its wolves are retired, too old to breed and too gullible to be released into the wild. Jamie Haas, the center’s marketing and education coordinator, jokes that they’re Sun City East for Mexican gray wolves.
As a rescue and sanctuary, this is the first time the center has raised Mexican wolves. The USFWS has coordinated parent-to-parent matching. Millie and Moonlight, an older female and male, gave birth on April 30. The newborn pups were delivered about a week before they were swapped into the wild litter.
Once wildlife managers are ready to move the pups, they send another team to locate viable dens. Before the adopters were released, they took blood samples for genetic testing. This will allow them to recognize the wolves as they mature.
In the den, the team sneaks up on captive-bred pups, mixing the scents of wild pups with their new mates.
O’Cliff said the puppies’ eyes are still closed at this age, which reduces stress, but also when adoptive mothers are more likely to accept them. While the new recruits don’t go completely unnoticed, the mother’s maternal instincts kick in. Being family oriented, biological mothers also don’t seem too bothered by the process.
“They were a little stressed out for a few days, but I think after five days he’s back to normal behavior completely,” Haas said. “Both were lying in their favorite spot, in the shade, above one of their wolf houses in their fence. So we’re back to business as usual, which is really encouraging.”
Previous versions:20 Mexican gray wolf puppies are put into the wild
Why are young wolves adopted?
Inbreeding has been a concern of wildlife biologists since the wolf recovery program began in 1998. While wild wolves generally avoid interbreeding with immediate family members, genetic diversity has been limited from the start. It required careful planning to ensure that the new mates were as genetically distinct as possible, something that is easy to do in a captive environment, but less so in the wild.
The genetic rescue of Mexican wolves was a sign of the program’s success, but it was also one of the issues raised in an earlier lawsuit. Conservation groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, Land Justice and Wildlife Advocates have advocated for many years that wildlife agencies should do a better job of prioritizing genetic diversity.
last year, The Federal Agency released a draft Regulatory rule Following a 2018 court order that ordered the agency to address several issues related to the management rule, called the 10(j) pilot population rule.
To comply with the order, the agency proposed adding a method to extend and measure genetic health. It’s essentially a captive-bred release quota that biologists would like to see through 2030. This year, they’d like to see at least nine cubs surviving to reproductive age, a number that rises to 22 by 2030.
Species recovery:Federal agency outlines plan to curb illegal Mexican gray wolf killings
Scientists say that there are problems with the program
Independent scientists say there is a better way to measure genetic diversity. Mexican gray wolves are one of the most closely watched wolf populations in the world. There are books out there that will allow managers to determine the uniqueness of each wolf, so in theory, wildlife agencies could release genetically distinct wolves into the wild. It is used for other endangered species such as California condors and black-footed rodents.
Another strategy, say the scientists, could be to expand the area where wolves roam to allow for more natural exchange. The current area, while it expanded in 2015, is still insulating enclosures.
Some advocacy groups argue that there should be large regions that allow for natural genetic exchange. In the natural world, wolf populations from Mexico to Canada were mixed and mixed, allowing for genetic exchange. This was cut by the northern boundary of Interstate 40.
“I think if they expand the area in which they release wolves, it will give them the opportunity to select genetically healthy individuals from the captive population,” said Carlos Carroll, a wolf biologist who served on the 2012 recovery team. “Release adult pairs with young ones in fact would give them much more room to increase diversity in the population.”
The fear, O’Cliff said, is that captive wolves are more likely to bump into people because they can be more habituated. He added that the idea of using wild wolves as an alternative should instill caution in people.
recovery area:Wildlife officials draw a line at I-40 for Mexican gray wolves, but does it hurt recovery?
Wolves with genetic value are killed
Conservationists are also concerned about the killing of genetically valuable wolves after allegations of predation on livestock. Since the recovery program began, at least 100 wolves have been killed by federal officials at the behest of ranchers who claim wolves are preying on livestock. Last year, two wolves were illegally shot. One of them died, and the other lost a leg due to amputation.
But the government acknowledges some of the killings. a last investigation In allegations of predation in New Mexico, led by the Western Watershed Project and The Intercept, claimed that many of the claims were unsuccessful and that the killing occurred without thorough investigations into whether wolves were actually killing livestock. In some cases, federal officials approved the killings with limited information.
The Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity recently authored a letter saying that cross-enhancement provides a bit of genetic rescue, which is the goal of the mutual-enhancement program.
There are now 196 Mexican wolves in the wilda slight increase from last year 186. To date, with the new additions, 83 mutual pups have been released into the wild, however the survival rate has been low.
Of the 72 released as of last year, only 13 are known to survive, and only four have reproduced. Among those litters, only one descendant is known to survive today.
These small numbers are a stark reminder of how fragile the burgeoning population is and how important each additional member of the pack is. While the latest press release said survival is greater than 50%, the information provided to the Center for Biological Diversity says it is actually lower.
What does this mean to keep the wolf
To boost the prospects for the pups, the US Fish and Wildlife Service should return to releasing well-connected family groups of both female and adult males, Michael Robinson, who works on wolves issues for the Center for Biological Diversity, said. With their young for at least six months.
“That was more successful than the reinforcement effort,” Robinson said. “(Wildlife managers) ended the practice because it was working. The livestock industry… has demanded meetings with senior officials and members of Congress to oppose the wolves’ recovery.”
For the USFWS, running the Mexican wolf program was a delicate balance to promote recovery without angering influential livestock groups and politicians who oppose wolf recovery. O’Cliff said it’s better for those who live with wolves to add the pups to their existing dens, where the wolves already live, rather than placing them in new areas.
To help improve genetics and the overall population, cross adoption appears to be the best the agency can do. While this year’s releases were half of last year’s, wildlife officials describe them as a success. The new babies added to the wildlife offer hope for a future for this species and for recovery.
“I think looking forward, we’re going to continue the exchanges and we’re going to keep maximizing our capacity or the numbers we can get,” O’Cliff said. “We’ve seen some movement across the border, so I hope that at some point, the two peoples will be linked.”
Lindsey Potts is an environmental reporter for The Arizona Republic/Azentral. Follow his reports on Twitter at Tweet embed The Kbots on Instagram. Tell him about the stories in lindsey.botts@azcentral.com
Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in the Republic of Arizona is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow Republic’s environmental reporting team on environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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