Family:

Canidae, the dog family

Conservation Status:

Critically Endangered, IUCN; federally endangered in the U.S.A. and Mexico.

Range:

The southwestern United States and Mexico.

Habitat:

Arid grasslands, woodlands and forests

This is the smallest subspecies of Gray Wolf. An average female weighs 55 lbs. and a male 65 lbs. Their coat is various patterns of gray, sometimes with a reddish tinge.

A typical prey might be the tiny Coues’ white-tailed deer.  They will take other prey, but their populations will not persist without large hoofed animals for prey.  Their predators are humans.

The basic wolf social unit is the pack, which hunts together and cooperates in raising young.  The pack commonly consists of an alpha pair that forms a long-term bond. Wolves start breeding at two years of age and breed just once a year, usually in February or March. Typically 4-6 pups are born 63 days later in an underground den or natural shelter.

The natural behaviors of Mexican Wolves, however, are not well documented, but they are probably similar to other subspecies of the gray wolf. Some scientists speculate that they formed small packs and large territories.  By 1925 few Mexican Wolves were left in the U.S. and by 1950 there were few in Mexico.  The last Mexican Wolf recorded in the U.S. was in 1970 in New Mexico and Texas. The last recorded in Mexico was in1981.