This update provides the interested public with current information about the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program. As of July 15, there are 22 Mexican gray wolves in five family groups free-ranging the Apache National Forest. Four of the five potential breeding pairs released this year produced pups successfully one pack in captivity, two in pre-release pens, and one in the wild. A review of the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program s first year was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 11. Program staff and cooperators met with other wolf recovery experts, including biologists, law enforcement agents, and outreach specialists.
Perseverance is the key to endangered species recovery.
We incorporated all of these ideas into our 1999 strategy for wolf release and management techniques. For example, to facilitate soft releases in remote locations, an experimental pen design, using heavy-gauge, soft nylon mesh and steel posts instead of standard chain link, was developed. Their remote location makes intensive monitoring difficult, therefore backcountry monitoring was conducted in June to determine if the pair had pups and to collect data on the pair's food habits. M166 was one of the original wolves released in March 1998, being held captive for only about three weeks out of the last 16 months. Many wolves gave birth earlier than expected this year, possibly due to the mild winter.