Within the worryingly long list of species currently classed as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN, the name of a largely unknown canid is listed: The Mexican wolf.
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El Lobo
Also known as the Lobo in North America, there are only 350 Mexican wolves living in the wild. However, the species, which is currently facing extinction, has potentially just been granted a glimmer of hope. Indeed, a total of eight wolf cubs have been born at Los Coyotes Zoo in Mexico.
The birth of the wolf cubs is the most significant since an extensive U.S.-Mexican programme was launched in the 1980s. The programme was introduced with the aim of protecting the future of the species, listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species even though just several decades ago the Mexican wolf was still widespread on both sides of the border between the USA and Central American countries.
Preserving the species
In the wild, it is unusual for Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) to give birth to litters of more than four cubs. But it is likely that living in captivity, and the abundance of available food, resulted in the she-wolf producing a larger than average litter.
The eight cubs (six males and two females) entered the world inside the Mexican zoo… last April.
The Mexican government chose to wait several months before sharing the good news with the public, fearing that some of the cubs wouldn't survive past the early weeks- as often happens in the wild.
A closely monitored birth
The mother of the eight cubs, called Pearl, retreated to her den a week before the birth, and the father, Yoltic, fed the whole family with the help of his cubs who were born the year before.
After three and a half weeks hidden away inside her den, Pearl emerged looking very thin and… accompanied by all of her offspring! They are being closely watched by zoo staff in the 3700 metres squared enclosure, and entry is forbidden to the public.
Every measure is in place to ensure that the cubs don’t come into contact with mankind, and the carers hope to eventually be able to release the siblings into the wild, when they are big enough of course.
350 wild wolves
The Mexican wolf is a subspecies of the Grey wolf (Canis lupus). It originates largely from the south-east of the U.S.A and from northern Mexico.
The wolf population began to decline at the beginning of the twentieth century, when mankind began to hunt its two favourite prey: red deer and elk. Deprived of food, the wolves began to attack herds of sheep and cattle and due to this, the ranchers began to wipe them out.
Since the 1950s, the species has been classified as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN. Since the launch of the project to protect the species, Mexican zoos have seen the birth of no less than 156 wolves and the majority have been released into the wild.
