Mexican Wolf

The Mexican Wolf is a small subspecies of North American gray wolves. It is also the most endangered. It is most usually known as El Lobo in its native country.

It is mostly grey with light brownish fur on its back. It has long legs and a slender and smooth back means it can run fastly. It is high 26-32 inches at the shoulder and 4.5-5.5 feet long (from the nose to the end of its tail). It can weigh from 60-80 lbs and males are commonly heavier and taller than males. It is unknown to man how long the wolf can live up to in the wild but they have been able to live for 15yrs in captivity. It eats most ungulates which are large hoofed animals such as white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk. They can also eat smaller mammals such as wild pigs, mice and rabbits. They were once extinct in the southwestern United States but 34 wolves returned to southeastern Arizona because of a reintroduction program began in March, 1998. The goal of the reintroduction program was to release and keep in the wild, at least 100 of them by 2008; unfortunately, at the end of the year there were only probably 50 of them. Now there are approximately only 200 of the species left in captivity today. Mexican wolves prefer to live in mountain forests, grasslands and are very social animals. They live in packs, which include members and their young and the Alpha male and female and their young. The females will mate in mid February- mid March and be in 63 days gestation before having her cubs. In a litter there can be from 4-7 cubs. The cubs are born blind and defenseless. The pack will care for them until they are mature and strong at about 10 months.