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Field Work for the Mexican Wolf
This August, I participated in the Mexican Wolf Field Project in Arizona and New Mexico. This opportunity was made possible by the Minnesota Zoo’s Ulysses S. Seal Conservation Fund, which covered my expenses during the month I spent working in the Southwest.
During my stay, I had many opportunities to participate in just about every level of the field team operation. My primary role was to collect data from kill sites in Arizona and New Mexico. Twice a week, global positioning system (GPS) locations were downloaded by the biologist who was studying kill rates and prey items in Mexican gray wolves. Once the GPS locations were downloaded from a wolf’s collar, a team of two volunteers would go to the site to collect information. We looked for confirmation of a kill by a wolf (as opposed to a puma, bear, dog, or coyote), noting wolf presence (beds, scats, tracks), and looking for evidence of an attack. I worked primarily in the Alpine area, specifically with the Meridian pack but also traveled to other areas in Arizona or New Mexico. Click here to read a newsletter article about the Meridian pack release (pdf file). I had trouble with the altitude, but by the end of the month was able to cover the terrain in much better time than when I first arrived. Thank goodness the field team had endless patience with me!
 When I wasn’t gathering data at a kill site, I was able to help out the field team in many other ways. This included talking with hunters, ranchers, and campers about wolves in the area, setting traps to put collars on wolves, doing education programs in the area with the local community, and keeping the new Meridian pack wolves away from human dwellings.
On one memorable morning at about 5:30 a.m., I was at one of the local ranches where the Meridian pack was hanging around. As I waited for the biologist to find a signal on the radio collars so we could determine the pack’s location, I heard thundering ground and crashing brush. I looked up to see the Meridian adult pair testing a herd of elk and trying for a kill only 20 feet away …the experience of a lifetime! These recently released wolves had already adapted to the wild environment—proof in my mind of the abilities of this predator. The experience was even sweeter because the Meridian female was the Minnesota Zoo’s own wolf #838. Although the pair was unsuccessful that morning, we were able to confirm that the pair killed an adult bull elk just a week later.
My experience was all that I had hoped for when I heard that the Meridian pack was actually going to be released. While the ultimate goal of many Species Survival Plans is to release animals into the wild, this is often not possible due to lack of habitat and prey base, or human intolerance. The Mexican wolf project has had its share of challenges, but it is clear that Mexican gray wolf reintroduction can be successful in biological terms. The politics of reintroduction, however, continues to be a challenge. Wolves have faced this same challenge throughout history and I doubt anything will change quickly, however I continue to hope for the best, and am proud that the Minnesota Zoo has played an active role in this project.
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