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Southwest Region (Arizona New Mexico Oklahoma Texas) www.

fws.gov/southwest/ For Immediate Release: February 18,

2016 Contacts: John Bradley (505) 248-6279, [email protected] Lynda Lambert (623) 236-7203, [email protected]

2015 MEXICAN WOLF POPULATION SURVEY REVEALS MORE WORK TO BE DONE BUT STRATEGY REMAINS VIABLE ALBUQUERQUE C The Mexican wolf Interagency Field Team (IFT) has completed the annual year-end population survey, documenting a minimum of

97 Mexican wolves in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico at the end of 2015. At the end of 2014,

110 wild wolves were counted. "These latest population numbers demonstrate we still have more work to do in stabilizing this experimental population and maximizing its anticipated contribution to Mexican wolf recovery," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Southwest Regional Director Benjamin Tuggle. "While disconcerting, the drop in numbers represents just one year and our strategy for the experimental population continues to be viable. The Service and our partners remain focused and committed to making this population genetically healthy and robust so that it can contribute to the recovery of the Mexican wolf in the future. We all understand the challenges we face as we try to increase the wild population of this endangered species." The population decline in

2015 is due to a combination of factors: ? There were

13 Mexican wolf mortalities compared to

11 in 2014. Of these

13 mortalities, nine were females and four were males. ? Eleven additional wolves are considered fate unknown compared to three in 2014. ? A significantly lower proportion of pups survived to December, relative to last year:

55 percent survival in

2015 compared to high

86 percent in 2014. "We cannot be certain if this abrupt decline is an anomaly, as our trends since

2010 had been more encouraging prior to this year, including a

30 percent growth in 2014," said Sherry Barrett, the Service's Mexican wolf Recovery Coordinator. "Although there are many dynamics that may have contributed to this year's count results, we will carefully analyze the contributing factors to try to actively reverse this decline." "Recovery of endangered species is never easy, nor is the road to success a straight line," said Jim deVos, Assistant Director of Wildlife Management for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News Release Public Affairs Office PO Box

1306 Albuquerque, NM

87103 505/248-6911 505/248-6915 (Fax) "The lower number of Mexican wolves that were counted is a concern, but not a signal that the program is unsuccessful. It is important to look at a number of population demographic factors such as the number of pups born this year, which is only two less than last year. Of the

21 wolf packs on the ground today, ten successfully reared a litter through the end of this year. Wildlife populations vary on an annual basis, so the decline in the number of Mexican wolves counted this year is not out of character." Assistant Director deVos continued, "The cooperators in this project have worked hard to get to where we are with this recovery program and in the long run, although there is much work to do, we should not forget where the Mexican wolf was in 1998, when they were absent from the wild landscape. Simply, the wolf population is on a long term upward trend." The results of the surveys reflect the end-of-year minimum experimental population for 2015. The annual population number is derived from on-the-ground surveys conducted by the IFT from November through December of 2015, as well as from an aerial survey conducted in January and February 2016. This number is considered a minimum number of Mexican wolves known to exist in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico, as other Mexican wolves may be present. The Mexican wolf mortalities are under investigation by the Service's Office of Law Enforcement in an effort to determine cause of death. If available, more information will be provided in the