Courtesy Endangered Wolf Center/Michelle Steinmeyer
BACKSTORY In the 1970s, the Mexican gray wolf
nearly vanished from the Southwest. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
began reintroductions in New Mexico and Arizona in 1998, but conflicts
with ranchers kept numbers low, and the already-endangered species
became dangerously inbred. In 2015, an agency plan gave wolves more room
to roam in New Mexico and allowed the release of captive bred animals
to increase genetic variation, but the state sued and a federal court
ruled in its favor, halting releases (“Line of descent,” HCN, 8/6/16).
FOLLOWUP In late April, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision; Fish and Wildlife can again release wolves into the New Mexico wild. Meanwhile, the first-ever Mexican wolf pup has been born through artificial insemination, using frozen semen, at a wildlife center in St. Louis. The technique may
improve the species’ genetic diversity over time, enhancing its chances for survival.
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