by Albuquerque, NM (AP) – It is a ritual that takes place every winter – federal and state managers use long -distance cameras, scat collection, radio stems and helicopters to count Mexican gray wolves that stripe in parts of New Mexico and Arizona.
The predators that are recorded during the annual survey are weighed and vaccinated, their blood is pulled and their radio collar are checked. It is all part of a decades of effort to measure the success of the work in order to return the endangered species to the historical area in the southwestern USA and Mexico.
This year’s count shows that the recovery of Mexican wolves is forward.
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The smallest subspecies of Gray Wolf in North America, Mexican wolves, were listed as endangered in 1976, and a binational captive Breeding program began before extinction. Over the years, the re -introduction program was the source of many legal battles – with environmentalists who tried to promote the wilderness and the cattle breeders who protect their lifestyle.
Here is a look at Mexican gray wolves through the numbers:
286
At least that’s how many Mexican wolves in the wilderness in New Mexico and Arizona are in the wild. It is 11% more than in the previous year and marks the ninth year in a row in which the population has grown. The reintroduction began in 1998 with the publication of 11 in captured wolves in the southeast of Arizona.
60
The minimum number of packs that were documented at the end of 2024, with more than half of those in the southwest of New Mexico. Wildlife managers define a pack as two or more wolves that adhere to a home range.
26
So many breeding pairs are in the wild – 16 in New Mexico and 10 in Arizona.
48%
The survival rate of the 160 puppies born in 2024. Wildlife managers say that 79 puppies survived at least until the end of the year.
27
Mexican Wolfs puppies, which were promoted in 2024 – enthusiastic puppies that were placed in the wild in Dens to highlight from other wolf packages. Officials say that cross promotion promote wolf numbers and genetic diversity.
30
The number of Wolf deaths documented in 2024. This includes six in the fourth quarter, all of which are up to those in New Mexico.
99
The number of confirmed cases in 2024, in which wolves killed the cattle, with seven examinations still outstanding. Officials of the Wolf recovery team say that the number of animal taxers has decreased due to wolves, but the cattle breeders still see it as a security problem for their families and livelihood.
290
So often, Wildlife managers carried out successful activity processes in 2024 to keep wolves away from rural houses and cattle states.
350
There are about as many Mexican wolves that live in captivity in Zoos and other institutions in the United States and in Mexico who work on maintaining the way.
203 million dollars
The price of the Mexican recovery of Gray Wolf based on a period of 25 years according to estimates in the revised recovery plan 2022.
