Arizona officials are working hard to increase Mexican gray wolf numbers

Mexican gray wolves used to roam the rural southwest before humans nearly wiped them out almost 100 years ago. Now, officials hope to restore the Mexican wolf population to at least 100, reports Joanna Nellans of The Daily Courier in Prescott, Ariz. The first wolves reintroduced to the wild were released in 1998, and in 2002 the first wild pup was born to wild parents. Now, at least 50 wolves can be found in east-central Arizona and west-central New Mexico. (Photo by Les Stukenberg, The Daily Courier: Tasai, one of the two Mexican gray wolves at the Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary in Prescott.)

The field team leader for Arizona Game and Fish program, Chris Bagnoli, outlined for Nellans the importance of this particular wolf. They are the smallest and most distinctive subspecies of gray wolves, and were the first to cross the Bering Strait to North America. Though many view the wolf as a "majestic creature that symbolizes freedom and nature," the Game and Fish website says "many people do not feel that wolves should be roaming free in Arizona." That's partly why the Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary highlighted the Mexican wolves' story during their Centennial Zoofest last month. The zoo is also involved in the recovery program.

Nellans reports federal and state officials have struggled with the recovery program. The wolves aren't allowed to roam outside a 9,000-square-mile area, and if they do, officials kill or capture them. They meet the same fate if caught killing livestock. Recent wildfires in Arizona forced wolf packs to move their dens, but most wolf killings are committed by people who illegally shoot them. New Mexico has dropped out of the recovery program, but Arizona Game and Fish Commission wants the wolves de-listed as federally endangered so the state could have more control over recovery efforts, making them more affordable, effective and efficient. (Read more)