Mexican Wolf Facts - Canis lupus baileyi

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The Mexican gray wolf is a subspecies of the grey wolf, and is the most endangered type of wolf in the world. Commonly referred to as "El lobo," the Mexican wolf is gray with light brown fur on its back. Its long legs and sleek body enable it to run fast.

Fast Facts

Height: 26-32 inches at the shoulder.
Length: 4.5-5.5 feet from nose to tip of tail.
Weight: 60-80 lbs; Males are typically heavier and taller than the females.
Lifespan: Up to 15 years in captivity.

Diet

Mexican wolves mostly eat ungulates (large hoofed
mammals) like elk, white-tailed deer, and mule deer. They are also known to eat smaller mammals like javelinas, rabbits, ground squirrels and mice.

Population

Did You Know?

Lobo means wolf in Spanish.

After being wiped out in the United States and with only a few animals remaining in Mexico, Mexican wolves were bred in captivity and reintroduced to the wild in Arizona beginning in 1998. There are only about 300 Mexican wolves in captivity. The goal of the reintroduction program was to restore at least 100 wolves to the wild by 2006; unfortunately, at the end of 2010 there were only approximately 50.

Range

Mexican wolves once ranged widely from central Mexico throughout the southwestern US. Today, the Mexican wolf has been reintroduced to the Apache National Forest in southeastern Arizona and may move into the adjacent Gila National Forest in western New Mexico as the population expands. See a Mexican wolf range map >>

Behavior

Mexican wolves prefer to live in mountain forests, grasslands and shrublands, and are very social animals. They live in packs, which are complex social structures that include the breeding adult pair (the alpha male and female) and their offspring. A hierarchy of dominant and subordinate animals within the pack help it to work as a unit.

Reproduction
Mating Season: Mid February-mid March.
Gestation: 63 days.
Litter size: 4-7 pups.
Pups are born blind and defenseless. The pack cares for the pups until they mature at about 10 months of age.

Threats

Defenders at Work

Efforts to avoid conflicts with livestock gained some momentum last year with more landowners in Arizona and New Mexico joining Defenders of Wildlife in helping to keep livestock and wolves apart. In 2010, Defenders of Wildlife helped landowners implement projects to reduce conflicts between livestock and wolves, including installing fencing outfitted with fladry (red streamers attached to fences) and employing additional range riders to help keep wolves away from livestock. Learn more about Defenders of Wildlife's work to ensure recovery of the lobo >>

Humans and habitat destruction pose the greatest threat to Mexican wolves.

Defenders of Wildlife has been a leader in wolf conservation since wolves first appeared on the federal endangered species list.

Reasons For Hope

The Mexican gray wolf has returned to some of its former haunts in the American Southwest. The Mexican wolf reintroduction project began in 1998, and the wolves have been doing their part ever since – forming packs, killing elk, finding mates and raising pups.

The overall number of endangered Mexican wolves roaming the Blue Range Wolf Reintroduction Area at the end of 2010 was 50, with only two breeding pairs. In 2011, the USFWS convened a new recovery team for the Mexican wolf, and Defenders is represented on the team by our Southwest Director, Eva Sargent. Mexican wolf recovery is a story of both success and frustration. The wolves are back, but they are struggling.