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28 February 2022
From alpine tundra to evergreen woods and snowcapped peaks, Arizona is home to a diverse range of natural treasures. It’s no surprise that the state is not just a popular vacation spot for those wishing to relax, but it’s also home to a vast range of species. Arizona’s lakes are rich with fishes, and its woods and deserts are home to a variety of rare flora and fauna that can’t be found anyplace else.
The Mexican wolf is one of the most well-known of the various species found in Arizona.
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The Mexican wolf, also known as the Lobo, is a North American subspecies of the gray wolf. It has a buff, gray, red, and black coat and can reach a length of 5.5 feet from snout to tail. The Mexican wolf can weigh as much as 80 pounds and is one of the most majestic beasts ever discovered by man.
In the 1800s, at least 4,000 Mexican wolves were roaming the deserts of Arizona, but the species is now nearly extinct.
The Mexican wolf population began to decline dramatically in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a result of the government’s predatory measures of the time. Until the late 1970s, the species was pursued and poisoned by various government initiatives and private individuals shortly after European settlement in the area.
Two indigenous wolf species had already been extinct by the time the concept of wolf recovery was proposed in the late 1990s. The Mexican wolf is now classified as critically endangered, with only a few of the species protected by wolf rehabilitation programs.
Today, Arizona is the primary release zone for Mexican wolves who have spent time in rehabilitation institutions and are being released back into the wild. While the Mexican wolf population is still far from making a large recovery in the wild, especially in Arizona and New Mexico, the hope that the species will be reintroduced to its natural habitats in the near future grows with each year that more Mexican wolves are reintroduced.
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Folks like our friends, Arizona Game and Fish have made great strides to help save species like the Mexican Wolf. Not only have they helped with efforts to help bring back species like the Mexican Wolf to Arizona land, but they’ve also helped species like the Bighorn Sheep. Arizona Game and Fish Department created a solution in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Department of Transportation to save the lives of bighorn sheep and people. Three wildlife overpasses and adjacent funnel fencing were constructed along a busy 15-mile stretch of Highway 93 north of Kingman to reduce vehicle collisions with bighorn sheep. In addition to providing safe crossing over roads for wildlife, this infrastructure also reduces traffic risks and allows populations to remain connected to their habitat.
If you want to support the efforts to help the Mexican Wolf and more of our Arizona creatures, you can donate to Arizona Game and Fish here, or when filing your taxes, check the box that donates to Arizona Game and Fish. Our Arizona wildlife is precious, let’s do all we can to help protect it.
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