A sedated Mexican wolf is carried from a helicopter to a team of staff who will conduct a health check and replace or attach a collar to the wolf before releasing it back into the wild.
Milestone comes as reintroduction efforts approach 25th anniversary
PHOENIX — For the first time since reintroduction into the wild, the population of Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico has surpassed 200, with a minimum of 241 wild wolves documented in 2022.
“This milestone has been 25 years in the making,” said Brady McGee, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator. “To go from zero wild Mexican wolves at the start to 241 today is truly remarkable. In 2022, we recorded more packs, more breeding pairs, and a growing occupied range, proving we are on the path to recovery. These achievements are a testament to partner-driven conservation in the West.”
The 2022 population estimate represents a 23% increase from the minimum of 196 wolves in 2021. This marks the seventh consecutive year of population growth and a more than doubling in size since 2017. The population is distributed with 136 wolves in New Mexico and 105 in Arizona.
“The road to recovery for any endangered species is neither straight or easy, and this has proven to be the case for the Mexican wolf,” said Jim deVos, Arizona Game and Fish Department Mexican Wolf Coordinator. “With the stunning growth that occurred in 2022, recovery has accelerated at an amazing rate. By every possible measure, progress was made, including the production from 31 breeding pairs that produced 121 pups, of which 81 were documented to having survived to the time of the count, which is a very high survival rate of 67%. While the road to recovery still has ground to be covered, in 2022, the recovery program covered a lot of ground.” Read more