EmailOh sweet! mexican wolves! awesome!
posted on Wed, 05/24/2006 - 3:06pm
Mexican Wolves in Minnesota?
Mexican Wolf: A Mexican Wolf. Photo courtesy MN Zoological Gardens.
Mexican wolves are the smallest subspecies of the gray wolf, and one of the most endangered mammals on Earth. At one time the Mexican wolf roamed over a large area of the southwestern United States and parts of central Mexico. Between 1870 and 1970 the Mexican wolf population was brought to the brink of extinction. The Mexican wolf was placed on the Endangered Species List in 1976. Between 1977 and 1980 the United States and Mexico joined efforts to capture 5 Mexican Wolves for a breeding program. These original 5 wolves along with new wolves added in 1995 make up the captive population of about 280 Mexican wolves.
Wolf Recovery: Map courtesy Defenders of Wildlife.
The Minnesota Connection
The Minnesota Zoological Gardens in Apple Valley Minnesota is active in the preservation of this highly endangered species. In 1994 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service approached the MN Zoo to join efforts in the Mexican Wolf Conservation and Restoration Project. Currently 4 male Mexican wolves call Minnesota home.
Even though people often think of the southwest as a very hot climate, there are areas of New Mexica and Arizona that get cold. Our pack of Mexican wolves do very well in the Minnesota climate... The wolves deal with our climate by growing a nice, warm coat and don't need anything else from us.
- Jackie Fallon, Zoologist, Minnesota Zoological Gardens.
Your Comments, Thoughts, Questions, Ideas
I can't believe it! That's like 5 billion miles away.
posted on Sun, 04/30/2006 - 3:39pm
i think its nice of them to help those wolves. wolves are soo cute and fluffy! ^.^
posted on Mon, 04/24/2006 - 1:57pm
umm... thats all you have to say? people were and probably still are cruel to those white wolves. they are pretty awsome!! thank god they were put on the endangered species list!\r\n
posted on Fri, 05/19/2006 - 3:18pm
White wolves? There are three kinds of wolves: gray wolves (Canis lupus, which lives in northen latitudes around the world; red wolves (Canis rufus), which now live only in North Carolina, and the Ethiopian/Abyssinian wolf (Canus simensis), which some scientists think is actually a jackal, not a wolf. There are many local variants, sometimes known as subspecies, of gray wolves, however. And "arctic wolves"--which are a variety of gray wolf--have white fur.
Here's a timeline of events related to the Mexican Wolf Recovery Project. Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi), are a subspecies of gray wolf, and are listed as an "experimental" species with a reintroduction plan.
According to Andrea Strauss of the International Wolf Center, gray wolves haven't had endangered species protection in Minnesota since 1978. In fact, Minnesota has the highest population of wolves in any state except Alaska. Instead, gray wolves here are listed as "threatened." And the number of wolves in most places is actually growing. Strauss answered lots of visitor questions about wolves when she was our "Scientist on the Spot."
posted on Fri, 05/19/2006 - 4:42pm
Two Mexican gray wolves, along with several other subspecies of gray wolf (Canis lupus), are housed at the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, MN. They also have red wolves (Canis rufus), one of the most critically endangered species of mammal in the world. For additional information, go to www.wildlifesciencecenter.org
posted on Wed, 02/22/2006 - 3:13pm
You need to show why it is endangered .\r\n
posted on Thu, 03/02/2006 - 1:16pm
I think this article is very interesting.
posted on Mon, 02/20/2006 - 4:26pm
The breeding program has been successful. But reintroducing wolves into the wild is the tough part. Eleven captive-bred Mexican wolves were released in Arizona and New Mexico in 1998. The ultimate goal is to have at least 100 wolves living in the wild by 2008.
posted on Tue, 02/21/2006 - 1:51pm
There has been some changes in the southwest lately. Region 2 of the US fish and Wildlife Service has requested no new captive wolves be released into parts of Arizona and New Mexico that are part of the Mexican Wolf Blue Range reintroduction Project. This would be for calendar year 2006. Curently there are 6 known pairs of wolves in the area and officals believe that a year will not stop the growth of the program's population goals. Why stop a reintroduction program? The program is a few years old and this a good time for officals to evaluate the progress of the program and to try to get an accurate count of the wolves in the area. It also gives officals time to meet and talk with landowners who may oppose wolf reintroductions near live stock.\r\n\r\nWhat do YOU think? Would you want a wolf living in your backyard? Even if it was an endangered species?
posted on Wed, 02/22/2006 - 4:49pm
I think that we are doing ok with helping the gray wolf, but we could do better
posted on Sat, 02/25/2006 - 2:40pm
NOW SHOWING!!!!\r\n\r\nStop by the 4th floor of the Science Museum of Minnesota and see our new exhibit on wolves!\r\n\r\n
posted on Sat, 03/18/2006 - 11:56am
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