Scientific Name:
Canis lupus baileyi

Status:
Endangered

Distribution:
Reintroduction effort underway in Arizona and New Mexico.

Habitat:
Oak woodland, pine/oak woodland or pine forest with adjacent grassland within mountainous terrain.

Diet:
(Carnivore) wild deer, pronghorn, javelina, small mammals. At the Zoo - red meat

Length:
Up to 6 feet in length including tail.

Weight:
Adults weigh 50-90 lbs (23-41 kg). Females are smaller than males.

Reproduction:
Mating takes place in February and March. Gestation is 63 days and litters contain 4-7 pups.

Longevity:
8-18 years.

General Description:
Red-yellow or yellow-gray with black patches on back and sides and white on the chest and abdomen.

Location/Distribution:
All United States' Mexican wolves are owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wolves raised in captivity are being released in Arizona and New Mexico to repopulate parts of the wolves' historic range.

Behavior:
Wolves live in packs, generally consisting of the breeding pair and their offspring from one or more years. Generally only the dominant pair mate and dominance hierarchies may exist for both sexes. Prey that is young, aged or weak make up most of the kills by the pack, thereby helping to keep the ecosystem in balance. Wolves tend to gorge themselves at a kill with large animals consuming about 20 lbs (9 kg) in one feeding, utilizing almost every part of a carcass, including most of the fur and bones. Average consumption is about 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg) daily. Individual wolves may only kill every 18 days. If wild prey is plentiful, wolves do not generally attack domestic livestock. Wolves howl to communicate with pack members and other wolf packs. Communication is also achieved by scent marking and facial and body posturing. Territories are marked with urine and droppings. There are no authenticated records of healthy wild wolves injuring humans in North America.

Did you know? Wolves were hunted almost to extinction because they were a threat to livestock. Mexican wolves are an SSP species and their captive breeding is controlled by the Mexican Wolf Captive Management Committee.

Where can you find them? Apache National Forest, eastern Arizona.

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