Critically Endangered Mexican Gray Wolf Released into Arizona Wild

Scientific American - Energy & Sustainability 2013-01-22

Summary:

On Wednesday, January 16, a four-year-old Mexican gray wolf ( Canis lupus baileyi ) named M1133 took the first careful steps out of his crate into Arizona's Apache National Forest, near the New Mexico border. It was the first time he had ever been in the wild. Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Arizona Game and Fish Department hope that the captive-bred M1133 will now join the seven-member Bluestem wolf pack, whose alpha male was illegally killed by a hunter in 2012. If he breeds with the pack's alpha female--who has not yet taken a new mate--it could bring a vital element of genetic diversity to a small group.But even if M1133 does become a father, will his contribution be enough to develop a sustainable population for these critically endangered wolves? Including M1133, fewer than 60 Mexican gray wolves--North America's smallest and rarest wolves--exist in the wild, few of which are breeding. Nearly 300 more live in captive-breeding facilities in the U.S. and Mexico. All of the Mexican gray wolves alive today are the descendants of just five animals that were captured in 1973 after the subspecies was slaughtered into near-extinction by government agencies seeking to protect cattle and other livestock. [More] Add to digg Add to StumbleUpon Add to Reddit Add to Facebook Add to del.icio.us Email this Article

Link:

http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=5ebe30ebcb3983191740189e1259369f

From feeds:

Berkeley Law Library -- Reference & Research Services ยป Scientific American - Energy & Sustainability

Tags:

energy & sustainabilitymore scienceevolution

Date tagged:

01/22/2013, 18:10

Date published:

01/22/2013, 16:40