The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the Mexican wolf population in the U.S. has surpassed interim abundance and release targets, along with predictions for gene diversity and population growth.
The agency’s five-year evaluation plan assesses progress on recovery objectives and compares observed metrics and predicted metrics. The interim abundance target in the Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan at five years was 145 wolves for the U.S. The minimum observed number was 242 wolves.
“Given the founding population of seven Mexican wolves, the ability to demonstrate such a high retention rate for gene diversity and other associated genetic measures is a paramount recovery success,” said Jim deVos, Arizona Game and Fish Department Mexican wolf recovery coordinator.
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