✅ MEXICAN GRAY WOLF

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is a species of carnivore from the Canidae group that traditionally had a wide distribution in various regions of the planet. There are several subspecies, one of them is commonly known as the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), which suffered terribly from the slaughter of almost its entire population. Although wolves can cause some inconvenience with domestic animals, this is mainly due to the lack of prey in their natural habitats, which are diminished by human actions.

Keep reading this article from PlanèteAnimal and discover the most relevant data on the characteristics of the Mexican gray wolf, its habitat, its habits and its current conservation status.

Origin

America
United States
Mexico

Characteristics of the Mexican Gray Wolf

Here are the main defining characteristics of the Mexican wolf subspecies:

Of all the subspecies, the Mexican wolf is the one with the greatest genetic differences, giving it physical traits, such as morphology and coloring, that set it apart from the rest of American wolves . In addition, its behavior and ecosystem in the wild are different, so that it can, for example, inhabit more arid places than other subspecies.
This subspecies looks much more like a large dog than other types of wolves.
It is about 1 to 1.5 meters long and has a height at the withers of between 60 and 80 cm. In terms of weight, it is between 20-30 kg, so it is the smallest wolf among those existing in North America.
Males are larger than females.
The head is elongated, the muzzle thick, the ears large and rounded at the ends.
The fur of this wolf is abundant, in the upper part it usually has a combination of gray with a color similar to rust. Occasionally, we observe black areas on the back, while the belly and legs are clear.
It has a long tail with thick fur.
Its legs are long and well developed.
The Mexican wolf has facial features that set it apart from other wolves, which are distinguished by a band of variable color running from the center of the eyes to the nose.Then, below the eyes extends the same coloration of the head, followed by the white color, which extends to the sides and chest.

Mexican Wolf Habitat

This animal is a subspecies originally restricted to certain regions of Mexico and the United States. In the first case, it was distributed from southern to central Mexico, with great abundance in the western and eastern Sierra Madre, as well as in the central volcanic region. In the case of the United States, it occupied southwestern Texas, southern New Mexico, and southwestern Arizona. The Mexican wolf could thrive in a variety of habitat types, from montane forests to the desert areas of Chihuahua and Sonora.

This animal faced extreme hunting that caused it to disappear from the aforementioned areas. Recently, its reintroduction has been restricted to eastern Arizona, Gila County, western New Mexico, and northern Mexico, particularly in the Sierra de San Luis.

Mexican Gray Wolf Diet

The Mexican wolf, like all other subspecies of wolves, is a carnivorous animal and its diet is mainly based on animals such as elk, white-tailed deer, wild boar, hares and in general, the small mammals present in the habitat. It could also include carrion and human waste in its diet.

At birth, Cubs suckle for a short time, about a month. Once the teeth start developing, the parents, basically the mother, regurgitate the food so that they start a semi-solid diet so that later when the teeth are fully developed they start eating animals hunted by the adults.

Traditionally, the Mexican wolf hunted its prey in its natural habitat, however, when this began to decline, it was necessary to prey on domestic animals for food, which caused conflicts between humans and these canids.This has been one of the reasons that caused the inappropriate and excessive hunting of the Mexican wolf.

Habits of the Mexican Gray Wolf

The Mexican wolf tends to have nocturnal habits, which does not limit it to daytime movements. This subspecies develops complex social behaviors, with close communication between pack members. One of his particular habits is to hunt in packs, which he does very skillfully. The attractive appearance of this wolf, its hunting skills, but also its surprising howl, made the Mexican wolf once an animal venerated by the settlers who made up the tribes of the territory where it lived.

On the other hand, we found that it is not an animal with migratory habits, nevertheless, in winter, when prey such as elk began to move, the Mexican wolf also moved and followed it to feed.

Packs establish a defined area as their territory, through which they constantly move. The extent of this area generally depends on the quantities of prey available. To establish new packs, young wolves tend to disperse to new territories, which are conquered to found their own packs.

Reproduction of the Mexican gray wolf

Mexico wolf reproduction takes place between February and March. As with other subspecies, only the alpha pair of the pack are allowed to breed, remaining together until they die. The family group is usually composed of 4 to 9 individuals.

The gestation period lasts between 63 to 65 days, after which between 4 and 7 babies are born, blind, deaf and totally dependent on their parents. The mother stays in the den to care for the young and feed them, while the male is frequently near them to protect them from any danger.It will be several weeks before new members of the Mexican wolf pack emerge from the den.

Conservation status of the Mexican wolf

The conservation status of the Mexican wolf has been a very complicated situation for the population of this subspecies. This canid was massively hunted and even poisoned, which led to its near extinction in Mexico and the United States and, consequently, to be declared probably extinct in the wild.

A few individuals were captured to form a program of reintroduction of the Mexican wolf, which in 2011 allowed the release in Sonora, Mexico, of certain specimens. Subsequently, 11 other releases took place.

Recently, in 2019, at least 30 cubs were born in the wild, which allowed Mexican conservation legislation for this animal to change its status from probably extinct in the wild to endangered disappearance.

The Mexican wolf has been one of many animal victims of human actions, which undoubtedly leads us once again to consider the urgency of changing our relationship with the rest of biodiversity .