The Last Wild Mexican Wolf

Please help save the Mexican wolf by forwarding this message to others.

Last year I transferred to video an old 8mm movie I took during the late 1970s of what I believe was the last or one of the last wild Mexican wolves captured from northern Mexico before the species went extinct in the wild.

Over the past year over 20,000 people have viewed it on YouTube. As you watch the film keep in mind that this animal, less than a week before I filmed it, was living in the wilds of Mexico. It was one of the last descendants of wild Mexican wolves that had been living in harmony with the land and Native Americans for thousands of years.

Their story almost came to a complete end. Fortunately the United States passed the Endangered Species Act. If it wasn't for that critical piece of legislation I am sure that the Mexican wolf would have gone completely extinct since there were few animals in captivity and virtually none in zoos. I hope that people who watch this 3 minute video will want to learn more about these beautiful animals and get involved in efforts to help with conservation efforts here in the United States and Mexico.

All Mexican wolves surviving in the wilds of Arizona and New Mexico today are the descendants of the progeny of this wolf and four others. The wolf in the film was captured by Roy McBride who was hired by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with the Mexican government to rescue the last wild Mexican wolves in Durango and Chihuahua. Roy and I were fellow graduate students at Sul Ross State University in Alpine where the film was made.

At the El Paso Zoo where I work we have three Mexican wolves and are trying to help save this critically endangered species in many ways including supporting the ongoing reintroduction program in the Southwest. If you have been following the story of this project you know that the descendants of the wolf in this video need our continued support.

Please go on the Internet by starting with the El Paso Zoo website at www.elpasozoo.org where you can learn more and get involved. Start with the page we have for the Mexican wolf in the Animals section of Americas. On our site we have a number of important links plus video interviews with members of the Mexican Wolf Recovery Team. A new website at www.mexicanwolves.org is also a great place to learn more.

Ever seen a kit fox?

Kit fox pups by Robert Shantz.

Ever seen a kit fox?

by Rick LoBello

Rarely seen by even the most avid desert hikers, the kit fox is one of two species of foxes living in the Chihuahuan Desert. The larger gray fox is more commonly seen including within the city limits of El Paso and Las Cruces. How do you tell them apart?

Kit foxes are smaller and have larger ears than gray foxes, but the best field mark is the tail. If you see a band of black on the top of the tail then you know you are seeing a gray fox.

During my many years living in Big Bend National Park I saw a few kit foxes and discovered that they prefer more open and sandier areas of the park.

The IUCN has assessed the status of the kit fox in North America and summarizes its status as Least Concern on the Red List as follows:

The Kit Fox inhabits the deserts and arid lands of western North America. The species is common to rare, with population densities fluctuating with annual environmental conditions. Estimation of a population size for Mexico, or even population trends, is not possible with current information. However, because natural habitats occupied by the Kit Fox are being transformed, it is safe to assume that, overall, populations in Mexico are declining. The species currently does not meet any of the thresholds for the threatened categories, and is presently assessed as Least Concern.