When they were declared an endangered species, there were no longer any Mexican gray wolves living in the wild in the United States. Although the U.S. Fish & Wildlife's Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Plan was not finalized until 1982, steps to save this species from extinction began in 1977 with a joint U.S.-Mexican effort. Between 1977 and 1980, five wild Mexican gray wolves
were captured in Mexico: four males (called effective founders) and one pregnant female. They were thought to be the last of their species alive.

Then, in 1995, the discovery of two more genetically pure Mexican gray wolf lineages, which had been in captivity since the 1960's, added valuable genetic diversity to the Recovery Plan. There were now eight effective founders and a total of 33 wolves.

Numerous organizations have taken the steps necessary to save this legendary and mysterious creature from the brink of extinction. The non-federal zoos and wildlife sanctuaries that participate in the Recovery Plan as breeding or holding facilities do so at their own expense, receiving no state
or federal funding to cover the costs of caring for this endangered species. Southwest Wildlife is a holding facility for the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Plan, and we thank our donors for supporting us in our efforts to help save this species, which plays such a vital role in a healthy ecosystem.

Thirteen Mexican gray wolves were released into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area, which includes the Apache National Forest in Arizona and the Gila National Forest in New Mexico, in 1998. For the first times in many years, members of this species lived in a portion of their historic U.S. range. The first wild-born pups of a wild-born parent were born in 2002.

In 2006, Southwest Wildlife was chosen take part in a hormone study among female Mexican gray wolves. The study was conducted to help researchers determine the ovulation cycles of females. With the information gathered, breeding facilities were able improve their success with artificial
insemination.

Following this hormone research, Southwest Wildlife was again asked to assist with the Recovery Plan. The new task was centered on a female wolf named Chuska, who lived at Southwest Wildlife. Chuska, officially known as Wolf 435 in the Recovery Plan, had the most varied and valuable genetics of all Mexican gray wolves in captivity. However, her age had forced her retirement from the breeding program.

In a procedure only performed twice before in Japan, oocytes, or egg cells, would be removed from Chuska's ovaries in a process known as egg vitrification. Hormones would be implanted in Chuska to cause her body to prepare to ovulate, at which point eggs would be harvested. The
eggs would be preserved and utilized to inject genetic diversity into the captive breeding program at some time in the future.

The original plan was for the specialist from Japan to fly to Arizona, where he would perform the delicate operation in Southwest Wildlife's surgical suite. This would eliminate the need to subject 13-year-old Chuska to the risks associated with the stress of transporting her to St. Louis, MO, where the specialist was to perform a second egg vitrification. Unfortunately, time became an issue, and the surgeon could not make it to Arizona. It was decided the best option was to perform an ovariectomy, the removal of the ovaries, on Chuska at Southwest Wildlife.

For this endeavor to be a success, Chuska's ovaries would have to be kept at constant wolf body temperature while they were shipped to St. Louis. In addition, it was crucial that the eggs were removed and preserved within five hours of the ovariectomy, or there was a high probability that the entire effort would be wasted.

Early in 2007, Chuska's ovaries were removed, and over 50 eggs were successfully harvested within the short amount of time allowed. These eggs are preserved in the hope of building a healthier genetic future for Mexican gray wolves.

Chuska was returned to her enclosure and reunited with her wolf companion, Tips, the following day. Sadly, she developed cancer several months later. She passed away late this winter, with her Tips at her side. While she is missed, the future of the Mexican gray wolf shines brighter because of her contribution.

In the same year of Chuska's operation, a survey of the wolf population was conducted in an ongoing effort to monitor the health of the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area. Nine years after the initial releases, there were a minimum of 52 wolves living there. The actual number was estimated to possibly be closer to 100. The future of the Mexican gray wolf is still unclear, but
with the effort of so many supporters there will always be hope.

A Tale of Two Rescues

by Paul Dief

It was the easiest of rescues; it was the hardest of rescues…

Whenever Southwest Wildlife calls me and says "Have I got a rescue for you!", I know I'm going to have an "interesting" time.

The easiest of rescues
APS was drilling 6-foot deep, 18-inch diameter holes for utility poles and the crew discovered they had a badger in one of the holes. The work was being done out near 177th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road—which, I think, is almost in California. So, before beginning the long drive, I called the cell number Southwest Wildlife gave me and talked to the APS guy on site.

He said they had a water tanker and asked me what I thought about flooding the hole and have the badger swim out. I explained that if the badger was injured or weak he might drown. I asked him if he had any thick rope or small posts or poles. If these were placed in the hole, the badger might be able to climb out—especially if he were motivated with just a little water.

It turned out the hose on the tanker was quite large, so they lowered the hose into the hole and pumped in a bit of water. That badger climbed up the hose and high-tailed it for the hills! Perfect! A successful rescue…and I never had to leave the building.

The hardest of rescues
Picture this: Gold Canyon Ranch. House under construction. Bobcat in the rafters. Bobcat won't leave because construction crew is standing below it. So…they lasso the poor thing, pull it down, and proceed to get lassos on each leg in addition to the two around its neck. They then tie the lassos off to various posts so it cannot move an inch.

Realizing now that it is much harder to untie a bobcat then it is to tie one up, they call for help. When I arrived and saw what I was dealing with, my first thought was "Holy Cow! I hope I get out of this without needing a blood transfusion." Thirty minutes later… Success! No blood loss, and the bobcat is bounding up the hill as fast as any critter ever has and is extremely unlikely to ever visit that house again.

First, I had to get a noose pole around the bobcat's neck and then covered his head with a couple of towels. I held the noose pole down with my left knee, kept my left hand on his head so I would know what he was doing underneath those towels, and used my right hand to untie his legs. This took a while, as knots in small diameter cord are very hard to untie with one hand.

I then scooted the cat into the big crate I brought with me and closed the door. I removed the noose pole and towels only to discover I had forgotten about the cords around his neck. Note to self: Remove cords from neck first before freeing up powerful, thrashing legs with sharp claws on the ends!

I cracked open the door of the crate and got the noose pole back onto the now fighting mad bobcat. His growls and screams made the hair on my neck stand up, not to mention speeding up my heart rate. I again covered his head with the towels. Holding the door with my left hand, I tried to untie the cords with my right hand. After 5 minutes of zero progress, I was starting to think I would have to haul the critter to Southwest Wildlife to be tranquilized in order to cut the remaining cords off.

At this point, I remembered I had a small Swiss army knife with scissors on them in my truck. Once I had the scissors, cutting the remaining cords was easy. "Easy" being a relative term because, after all, I was dealing with a trussed up bobcat. I took the crate to the end of the road, opened its door and, well, you know the rest of the story.

Bear Cubs Released

Each was crying out for its mother when it arrived at Southwest Wildlife. Mother bears do not abandon their cubs, so we knew they had been orphaned. They were covered with burrs, sick, dehydrated, and emaciated. However, because of Southwest Wildlife, they got a second chance for life. By this spring, these 5 orphaned bear cubs were healthy, strong, and ready for a second chance for freedom.

Southwest Wildlife volunteer veterinary technicians tranquilized each cub into order to perform final health inspections and place them into Arizona Department of Game & Fish transport crates. Game wardens then transported the bear cubs from Southwest Wildlife to their respective release sites and performed the actual releases.

The cubs were released as two groups: 2 were released in the mountains of southern Arizona and 3 in the mountains of northern Arizona. In preparation for their eventual releases, the 2 cubs released in southern Arizona had been sharing an enclosure, as had the 3 cubs released in northern Arizona.

These releases were possible because substantial snowfall in Arizona's high country over the past winter meant adequate food resources would be available to the cubs. Because the releases occurred in late spring, after the winter hibernation season had passed, the releases were "hard" releases. This means the cubs were taken to their respective release areas and released directly from their transport crates into the forests instead of being placed, still tranquilized, into prepared den sites.

It is expected that each group of cubs will stay together for some time this summer. Then, as is customary for 2-year-old bear cubs, they will disperse (separate from each other) during late summer or early fall, each in search of its own den site for the winter.

Southwest Wildlife is the only accredited wildlife sanctuary in Arizona capable of handling large mammals such as mountain lions, Mexican gray wolves, and bears. Without your continued support, these cubs would not have received second chances for life—or freedom.

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