(Page, AZ)
Endangered Mexican gray wolves living in the wilds of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico saw an improvement last year in their numbers, rising from 58 to 75. But scientists and wildlife advocates remain troubled by the lack of genetic diversity in the wolf reintroduction program. Arizona State University biology professor Philip Hedrick says there just aren’t enough wolf pairs having pups.
“To me, the big concern is just three breeding pairs, instead of last year they said there were six. The number of breeding pairs is down.”
Hedrick says the lack of genetic diversity among the wolves leads to what is called “inbreeding depression,” which tends to slow population growth in a number of ways..
“Viability, so the individuals may not survive as well. Litter size may be lower. They may not mate as well.”
The reintroduction program began with the release of captive wolves near Alpine in 1998. The program has been hampered by rancher opposition and illegal killings, including four in the past year.