summary wrote:"The Mexican gray wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf. Commonly referred to as "El lobo," this wolf is gray with light brown fur on its back. Its long legs and sleek body enable it to run fast. Though they once numbered in the thousands, these wolves were wiped out in the U.S. by the mid-1970s, with just a handful existing in zoos. In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, led by Jamie Rappaport Clark (now president of Defenders of Wildlife), released 11 Mexican gray wolves back into the wild in Arizona. Although their numbers have grown slowly, and they remain the most endangered subspecies of wolf in the world."
The lobo was once “top dog” in the borderlands, and when the wolf population returns to healthy numbers, biologists believe that lobos will restore balance to the Southwest’s ecosystems by keeping deer, elk and javelina—a type of peccary —populations healthy and in check. Wolves strengthen these animals by preying on the old, sick and young, and prevent their populations from growing so numerous that they overgraze and destroy habitat that countless other species depend on."
population wrote:"After being wiped out in the U.S. and with only a few animals remaining in Mexico, Mexican gray wolves were bred in captivity and reintroduced to the wild in Arizona beginning in 1998. There are only about 300 Mexican wolves total in captivity. The goal of the reintroduction program was to restore at least 100 wolves to the wild by 2006, and it will take many more than that before the lobo is safe from extinction. Today there are approximately 114 of these wolves in the wild."
wild behavior wrote:"Wolves are extremely wary of humans and not aggressive toward them by nature. Wolf attacks are the rarest of all large predator attacks. While the chances of seeing wolves in the wild are small, sightings can provide critical information for wildlife managers. Tracks and other signs of wolves are also important clues of the presence of this elusive carnivore. Respect for wild wolves will help them resume their vital role as a part of the natural ecosystems of Washington."
wolf attacks wrote:Evidence from a few recent cases of humans being bitten during wild wolf encounters indicates these animals may have been fed by people, thereby losing their natural fear of humans and associating humans with food. In other cases, people may have been injured while trying to break up a fight between their dog and a wolf.
In North America, where there are about 60,000 wolves, there has been only two fatalities apparently caused by wolves. It is believed that these fatalities were the result of habituated or sick wolves.
Injuries from wolves have also been extremely rare in North America. By comparison, domestic dogs in the United States are responsible for 4.7 million bites, resulting in 500,000-800,000 hospital visits and 15-20 fatalities per year.
what to do with wild wolves wrote:To prevent wolves from becoming habituated, people should:
- Resist the temptation to approach wolves.
- Do not entice or allow wolves to come nearby.
- Do not feed wolves or leave food outdoors, including pet food.
- Do not approach fresh wolf kills, dens, or rendezvous sites.
- Do not let wolves become comfortable near human-inhabited areas.
- Notify authorities about wolves that seem comfortable around people, seek human food, or frequent human or livestock areas.
- Early intervention can keep a problem from getting worse.
During a close encounter with a wolf, people should do the following:
- Stand tall and make themselves look larger.
- Calmly but slowly back away and maintain eye contact.
- If the wolf does not run away immediately, continue making yourself large, keeping eye contact, and backing away.
- Do not turn your back on the wolf or run away.
- If a dog is about to encounter a wolf, the dog should be brought to heel at the owner’s side as quickly as possible and leashed.
- Standing between the dog and the wolf often ends the encounter. To avoid risk of injury to yourself, do not attempt to break up a physical fight between a wolf and a dog accept by using bear spray or a powerful hose from a safe distance.
- If the wolf does not retreat and is acting aggressive by holding its tail high, raising its hackles, barking or howling, you should yell and throw things at it while continuing to back away. If it attacks, fight back aggressively to show you are too dangerous to attack.
- To ensure that there is no opportunity for your child or your pet to encounter any carnivore when camping, do not allow children to play away from camp or alone. Keep them close to adults at all times. Keep pets leashed and under control.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests