The number of Mexican gray wolves in the southwestern United States is increasing, but conservation organizations are expressing concern about the ongoing issue of inbreeding and its impact on the genetic diversity of this endangered species, which poses a threat to their ultimate survival.

On Tuesday, officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and wildlife agencies in Arizona and New Mexico released the findings of their yearly survey, revealing that there are currently a minimum of 257 wolves living in various areas of the two states. This number is 15 higher than the previous year and marks the highest reported amount of wolves living in the wild since the reintroduction program was initiated over 25 years ago.

This marks the eighth consecutive year of population growth, but environmentalists argue that it may not be a positive trend. They believe that the increasing number of Mexican gray wolves will only make it more difficult to address their genetic crisis.

According to Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project, the agencies will use this new benchmark to demonstrate progress towards success. However, she argues that they are disregarding important factors related to genetic diversity, which requires implementation of better policies for releasing adult and family groups.

Environmental organizations have long advocated for the expansion of released captive wolves into their natural habitat, as well as the reevaluation of restrictive policies that have limited their population to arbitrary boundaries. Currently, any wolves found north of Interstate 40 in these two states are captured and either returned to the designated wolf recovery area or held in captivity, potentially for breeding purposes.

Wildlife officials at the federal and state level have been focused on reintroducing Mexican wolves to the American Southwest. They believe that the use of captive-born wolf pups, implemented in 2016, has been successful in expanding the genetic diversity of the population. So far, 99 pups have been introduced into 40 different wild dens through this method.

The survey revealed that a minimum of 15 wolf pups raised in captivity have survived long enough to be able to reproduce in the past year. Additionally, at least 10 of the fostered wolves have successfully mated and given birth to litters in their natural habitat.

“Ilustrating the success of fostering through the survival, dispersion, pairing, breeding, and pack formation of Mexican wolves, shows us that fostering is effective,” stated Brady McGee, coordinator for the recovery of Mexican wolf populations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, stated that a majority of the wolf pups released into natural dens have vanished and at least twelve have been found deceased over time. Despite some genetic variance within the captive population, Robinson noted that the Mexican grey wolf population in the wild share close genetic ties, almost like siblings.

According to Robinson, providing artificial food to wild wolves through the Fish and Wildlife Service has resulted in a higher fertility rate and improved survival rates for their offspring. However, this practice has not addressed the issue of inbreeding. In certain cases, wildlife managers may offer additional food sources for the first half of the year to packs that have adopted fostered pups.

On Tuesday, he and his colleagues advocated for the release of additional wolf families from captivity, arguing that it would increase the likelihood of success.

Farmers and other people living in rural areas have objected to the idea of more releases, stating that their way of life has been affected by the ongoing issue of wolves attacking and killing their livestock.

Rewording: Although compensation funds provide some relief for the financial struggles that result from their cows being killed or the expenses of implementing preventive measures, they claim that it is often insufficient. Furthermore, the recently implemented federal standards for determining wolf-caused livestock deaths are anticipated to make obtaining compensation more challenging.

Lawmakers in New Mexico allocated $1.5 million in their budget plan to support compensation initiatives for the next two years, beginning in the upcoming year. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is a member of the Democratic party, has until Wednesday to approve the budget as well as other bills that were voted on during the recent 30-day session.

Source: wral.com