Wolves In The Wild: The Mexican Wolves

The Mexican gray wolf is a large prey that, in the past, preyed on livestock which contributed to their near extinction by humans. However, the decline in the Mexican wolf lead to an overabundance in plant life which had a direct effect on other wildlife. There are many challenges involved with re-introducing wolves to other stakeholders such as to academics, mangers, ranchers, or landowners. It is not as simple as taking the Mexican wolf from where they are now and placing them in different areas in Arizona, New Mexico, the US, and across the border in Sonora, Mexico. This is a very large area of land that policies would have to cover. The best ways to illustrate that this concept is not as easy as it may seem are best described by nature culture dichotomy, social-ecological systems involving ecosystems with people, and the Anthropocene comprised with the idea of humans as agents of change.

One of the strongest literary images I experienced was while reading from Of Wolves and Men by Barry Holston Lopez.While reading the story Barry Holston Lopez was describing what the wolf looked like, he said:"The wolf weighs ninety-four pounds and stands thirty inches at the shoulder. His feet are enormous, leaving prints in the mud along a creek". In my opinion, Barry Holston Lopez did an astounding job describing what the wolf looked like. One of the reasons this was so memorable was because for me it was so easy to imagine what the wolf looked like due to of how well Barry Holston Lopez explained it in such detail. This really contributed to the main idea of the text because it helped you experience the story so much

The people who inhabited the Americas before the European conquerors came had various forms of economic, social, and political organization. Some had developed large urban societies and others just practiced a simple form of life with agriculture and as hunter-gatherers. The Aztecs and Mayans were two very large civilizations in Mesoamerica (central and southern modern Mexico) who developed urban societies. In these societies, the construction of complex irrigation systems and the application of agricultural techniques favored the steady growth of agricultural production and population.

Since earth was created, there has been a natural phenomenon of species across the globe appearing and disappearing. However, in the past century, many species of animals have been disappearing at an alarming rate. Mainly, this rapidly occurring issue is caused by humans. Humans that contribute to the harmful actions that cause side effects such a pollution, deforestation, habitat loss and poaching. The natural rate of extinction pales in comparison to the extinction rate caused by all of these. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the current rate of extinction is 11,000 times greater than the natural extinction rate. Several different efforts have been made in order to stop or slow down the extinction of earth’s species. The Endangered Species Act is possibly the most successful example of these efforts. It’s main purpose is to get a commitment from the American people that they will work hand in hand to help save species that are at risk of becoming extinct and never returning. This act was put in place in 1973 and since then, no other law about the disappearance of wildlife has been quite as accomplished. Many different species that are protected under this law are either fully recovered or on their way to becoming safer. Laws like these are helping many different creatures left and right, however, at the alarming rate that they are disappearing, something else needs to be done. What people don’t seem to realize is that we depend on many of the animals that we are

The Mexican wolf is the southernmost subspecies of gray wolf in North America, its natural habitat was that of the southwest United States and Mexico, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona as their home range in the US. Mexican wolves typically feed on deer and elk. (Rinkevich, Murphy, & Barrett, 2011). The gray wolves were a menace to rancher’s cattle and farmer’s livestock. Depredation of livestock led ranchers and state governments to declare war on the Mexican gray wolves through public and private bounties. The Mexican gray wolves were successfully removed from the wild. (Foreman, 2004) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was vital for the protection of the Mexican gray wolf. (Larkin, Noss, & Maehr, 2001) In 1990, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service coordinated and developed a Mexican wolf reintroduction recovery plan to establish a wild population of no less than 100 Mexican Gray wolves in March

Through the years, there has been an ongoing argument on whether or not the reintroduction of the Mexican Gray Wolves will benefit or destroy wildlife. The articles show that Mexican Gray wolves will benefit due to the reintroduction, and help the local surrounding lands. Because wolves are so miss understood, people assume the worst. Wolves are just like people living with families and trying to survive. The Mexican Gray wolves are a great way to help bring back balance in the local ecosystem. They will also improve the local ecotourism. They will help with the re-vegetation and help the bird population return to its former glory.

The red wolves are an endangered species. Right now they are only 45-60 left the wild. If people don't do something soon they might become completely extinct.

The article, Washington wolf killing sparks rebukes, controversy discusses the local issue in Spokane Washington. Cattle ranchers have experienced a problem with the Profanity Peak wolf pack. The wolves attacked the rancher’s cattle as they grazed. It was reported that 6 cows were killed. In response, hunters grouped together and killed 6 wolves. This hunting riddled many environmental groups. They say that the wolves should not be slaughtered simply for living out their natural ways. In recent reports, Washington State University disapproved a professor, Robert Wielgus, who released inaccurate information regarding cattle rancher’s actions that rallied people against the ranchers. The misguided information resulted in death threats towards

Wolves are keystone species because of how they influence their prey and how their prey, in turn, influence the plants and animal species that fall under them. An example of this influence is in 1925 when the gray wolf population disappeared from the Yellowstone National Park environment. They were hunted and eradicated all throughout the United States. Wolves during the 1800s were hunted because of how they threatened the livestock of settlers in certain regions. This was a term known as predator control. Predator control is essentially when the government or some

In fifth grade I was heavily obsessed with wolves. I had a wolf backpack, socks,shirts, you name it. I would constantly draw pictures of them. One day I checked out a book on wolves at my school library. After reading the book ten year old me learned that my favorite species of wolves were endangered. I felt bad because I didn’t want them to disappear. So I went onto the website wwf.worldwildlife.org, an organization that helps endangered species. I had seen it in the book and donated twenty dollars that I borrowed from my parents. Although I only donated one time I kept up with the updates that they would provide. Nonetheless, we should all be concerned about protecting the endangered species. I want them to be around when I’m older and have a family which is why I believe that the restoration program of the Mexican Gray wolves is so important. Others may not agree with me because they don’t want another predator in the wild however, similarly to how the government works the wilderness needs checks and balances. The wolves contribute to it by being apart of the food chain.

The Mexican gray wolf is a large predator that, in the past, preyed on livestock, which led to their near extinction by humans because they were tired of the wolves eating their livestock, they were a danger to people, and there were land use conflicts. However, the decline in the Mexican wolf lead to an overabundance of plant life which had a direct effect on other wildlife. There are many challenges involved with re-introducing wolves to other stakeholders such as to academics, mangers, ranchers, or landowners such as the reasons listed above which led to their near extinction. It is not as simple as taking the Mexican wolf from where they are now and placing them in different areas in Arizona, New Mexico, the US, and across the border in Sonora, Mexico. This is a very large area of land that policies would have to cover. The best ways to illustrate that the re-introduction of the wolves in the many expected areas is not as easy as it may seem are best described by nature culture dichotomy, social-ecological systems, and in the Anthropocene humans are seen as agents of change.

Anti-wolf extremists will stop at nothing until the Gray Wolf species is put to rest for good. Over the years the so called “hunters” have created a cultural background to the Gray Wolf. The bible states, "Religious convictions support our hatred of the wolf. “ Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.'”,

In “The Beast of Waste and Desolation” in Barry Holstun Lopez’s book Of Wolves and Men, he writes about the attitudes he encountered from people when discussing wolves. These attitudes came from several different sources, ranging from several different Native American tribes and field biologists to ranchers, trappers, and general residents of the areas where he conducted his research. Lopez expressed his discomfort when he spoke with the latter group, as those people that felt there was nothing wrong with killing wolves, and that the practice, overall, was a good thing. Lopez writes that it seemed many of these people appeared to be filled with a general hatred; of government, laws, and wolves. The killing of wolves held a vengeful element, with no remorse or regret. He goes into detail of the single-minded persecution of the wolf, even though many of the conflicts with wolves were man made. One example provided was of man depleting many of the wolves’ natural prey sources like elk and buffalo, and as a result the wolves turned to preying on the domestic stock instead. Suddenly, man was justified in killing wolves as it became necessary to protect livestock. The larger questions

If there are below ten of a certain animal left on the planet, your first thought is to kill it, right? I didn’t think so. But that’s exactly what we find people doing today.

Bill Freedmen, author of “Endangered Species—Human Causes Of Extinction and Endangerment” notes, “scientists approximate that present extinction rates are 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the average natural extinction rate.” These distressing numbers should be acted upon to save the endangered species and avoid the catastrophic change to this planet if these species were to become extinct. In order to produce change, people need to recognize that habitat loss, climate change, and poaching are all factors in why our animal species are going extinct.