In the office, she posted me in front of another remote camera to take a look at a second Mexican gray wolf family led by the breeding pair, F1222 (Hopa) and M1067 (Brother), and their rambunctious pups.Įxcerpted from Wolf Nation: The Life, Death, and Return of Wild American Wolves by Brenda Peterson, forthcoming May 2, 2017. Since 2011 Gallegos has led Wolf Haven to become a leader in wolf-recovery efforts internationally.
Gallegos is an energetic and articulate spokesperson for wolves, whether it’s as a member of the Pacific Wolf Coalition, the cutting-edge Washington Wolf Advisory Group, or even in a Seattle community gathering, a Wolf Salon, with a standing-room-only crowd of Millennials intent on learning more about wolf conservation. “We’re so delighted that this spring three litters of Mexican gray wolves were born here,” said Diane Gallegos, director of Wolf Haven International. If they are the ones chosen for release into the wild, they must remain very cautious of us.
These pups are hidden from any public view and see humans only for medical exams. But there is something much wilder in their golden eyes-and wariness-even as they play. Then all four pups again tried to clamber atop him, only to tumble off when he gave a gentle shrug.Įxcept for their long-limbed prance and exotic colorings-sable and gray-tinged fur-and their much longer snouts, the little pups could be mistaken for a litter of domestic dogs. He stretched, yawned, and play bowed to his offspring. Good naturedly, the father gave up trying to nap in the sun. In the Southwest, Mexican wolves are “political footballs,” explains Linda Saunders, the director of conservation at Wolf Haven.īut now, as I watched, the six-week-old pups seemed to be playing their own kind of wolf football as one pup streaked across the screen and leapt on his father, M1066 (Moss), tackling his tall legs. That’s a big if, especially given the wolf-recovery politics in New Mexico and Arizona, where governors and wildlife commissions passed new rules forbidding any reintroduction of captive-born Mexican wolves. “They really need the genetic boost these new pups can give them,” she pauses thoughtfully, “if any of them are selected for reintroduction into the wild.” “All the Mexican wolves living in the wild today come from seven founding animals, composed of three distinct lineages,” Spencer notes. Under the Endangered Species Act the federal government must work to recover this critically endangered species. By the late seventies wolf populations in the Southwest had crashed to a mere five wolves in Mexico and were all but eliminated in New Mexico and Arizona. This wolf family is one of the most genetically valuable in all of America’s captive population. Of the several Mexican wolf litters born at the sanctuary, two family groups have already been released into the wild (Arizona): the Hawk’s Nest pack released in 1998 (part of the initial release) and the Cienaga group released in 2000 still survive today.
Some have now found their “forever home” here. Here the carbon-rich grassy meadows offset climate change, a lush red and blue riot of native wildflowers like purple camas and golden paintbrush attract honey bees, and the moss-draped trees offer cool shade and refuge to the fifty-two displaced and captive-born wolves. These prairie lands are quiet buffers for this, the only wolf sanctuary in the world accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. It’s a good and safe life at Wolf Haven, with its eighty-two acres of restored and biologically diverse prairie and oak woodlands, founded in 1982. Just their parents, siblings, and home life.” “There is no concept of captivity or even humans for the pups. “Their world is so small now,” she added. “They’re being raised by their parents, just like any wolf pup in the wild,” explained Wendy Spencer, Wolf Haven’s director of animal care. These critically endangered Mexican gray wolves are growing up in the Species Survival Program (SSP) for possible reintroduction into Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. Via live remote cameras I watched as four gangly six-week-old male pups scampered and climbed atop their very patient father, M1066, nicknamed in house as “Moss.” The big-eared and fuzzy pups romped and feigned attacks with tiny sharp teeth, wrestling with each other, then racing into the tall cedar trees. In the spring of 2015 I visited Wolf Haven International, a wolf sanctuary in Washington state, to witness the first litters of Mexican gray wolf pups born there in seven years.
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