A great achievement for the nature: the Mexican Wolf leaves the list of extinct species.
Some days ago, SEMARNAT reported that the Mexican Wolf, considered extinct in its wild, had recently abandoned this status. Without a doubt, this is great news and hope for the country’s biodiversity.
The Mexican Wolf, Canis lupus baileyi, is one of the five subspecies of the gray wolf. Its habitat is restricted to North America and before its predation encompassed the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, extending to western Texas, southern New Mexico and central Arizona. Since the 1970s, this species had been declared extinct due to indiscriminate hunting and habitat depredation.
A new beginning
The most recent modification in the List of species at risk of the Official Mexican Standard was made on November 14. In it, the Mexican gray wolf abandoned the category of “Probably extinct in the wild.” Now, and after many efforts, this species is included in the category “Endangered.”
This is a great step in the conservation and restoration of Mexican biodiversity. That it would not have been possible without the hard work of captive reproduction carried out in the United States. As well as the Mexican effort to reintroduce specimens to wildlife in the Reserva de la Biósfera Janos in Chihuahua.
Protection and conservation
Since 2007, various efforts have been made to conserve the Mexican wolf, among them is the Action Program for the Conservation of the Species: Mexican Gray Wolf, coordinated by CONANP.
In 2011, the first release of wildlife specimens took place in the state of Sonora. The next eleven releases were made in Chihuahua between the Reserva de la Biósfera Janos, and the Tutuaca, Papigochic and Campo Verde Flora and Fauna Protection Areas.
In December 2013, the first successful reproductive couple was released. In the spring of the following year, the first litter of Mexican wolves in free life was recorded after 30 years of its extinction. To date, birth in its natural habitat of nine litters has been documented, with approximately 30 puppies in total. Last birth was registered in September 2019.
There is a long way for this beautiful species to cease to be in danger, efforts continue and one of the best ways to help is to educate and spread its importance.
