Follow the Pack

Because Mexican gray wolves are so rare and endangered, wildlife biologists study them intensely to find information that can help ensure their survival. To aid in their efforts, wolves in each pack are fitted with radio tracking devices. Biologists use hand-held antennas to pick up signals from the tracking devices and follow the beeps to the wolves where they can observe behavior, study kill sites and monitor animal health.

This page of our site is where we'll be providing updates from these biologists, including the general locations of packs, how their pups are doing, if new wolves have joined the packs and more. So, check back frequently and get
to know your wild Mexican gray wolves.

Follow the Pack, February 11, 2010

Fewer lobos in the wild (February 11, 2010)

The Mexican wolf field team has finished the end-of-year survey of the wild population (See Follow the Pack for January 20 to learn how they count the wolves.). Biologists had hoped that the population would grow in 2009. Unfortunately, they found only 42 animals. This is ten fewer wolves than they counted in January 2009. Although 31 pups were born in 2009, the field team found only seven in mid-January 2010. It’s normal for some wild wolf pups to die, but this year many more were lost than usual. Project biologists will be looking hard for the causes of last year’s heavy losses.

Five packs had at least one living pup at the end of 2009, but only two packs had at least two surviving offspring. Those breeding pairs are the Hawk’s Nest and Paradise packs, with two pups each. Both those packs are in Arizona. Other packs with one pup each are the Bluestem and Rim packs in Arizona, and the Middle Fork pack in New Mexico.

The breeding season for Mexican wolves in the wild is just beginning. We’re hoping that every wild pack will have puppies later this spring. We also hope that many more pups will survive this year.

No snow days for lobos (January 26, 2010)

When heavy snow keeps cars and buses from moving along streets and roads, schools and businesses often close for a “snow day.” Mexican wolves in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area can’t just declare a snow day when snow gets deep and travel is difficult. They must continue to hunt for food in order to survive. Snow in some parts of the recovery area has piled up as deeply as four to six feet during the past few weeks. How do the wolves get around in such deep snow?

Follow the Pack did some research and learned some interesting facts about wolves and snow. First, as we reported earlier, wolves have large, soft, padded paws that act much like snowshoes, keeping the wolves from sinking into the snow very easily. Elk and deer weigh much more than wolves, but their feet are much smaller in comparison to their size. Their feet press down harder on the snow than wolves’ paws. They also have sharp hooves that punch through the snow, making it hard for them to run fast. This can give wolves an advantage when they are chasing an elk or deer for dinner.

Daytime temperatures in the recovery area often rise above freezing. The snow becomes soft, causing even wolves to have trouble staying on top. At night, when the temperature falls far below freezing, the snow freezes and forms a crust. One observer in Michigan watched wolves resting during the late afternoon and evening, when the snow was soft. They seemed to be waiting for the snow to freeze before going hunting. Other observers found that wolves often killed prey animals during the night, in some cases taking advantage of crusted snow that allowed them to move more easily than their larger prey.

Follow the Pack has noticed that Mexican wolves in the recovery area sometimes take advantage of easier travel along roads that have been plowed or where the snow has been packed down by vehicles. We have observed long lines of wolf tracks heading straight down the packed snow of a forest road. Sometimes the tracks will take a little detour to a tree or bush next to the road. There, you can see where the wolf marked its territory with urine, just like your family dog. Wolf tracks in snow tell their own stories.

For more information about wolves and snow, as well as lots of other fascinating facts about wolves, check out the book Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, edited by L. David Mech and Luigi Boitani. It should be available in many libraries, especially college and university libraries.

Wolf biologists count wild lobos (January 20)

While Follow the Pack was in the field in Arizona, Mexican wolf project biologists were getting ready to do their yearly count of the wild population. They fly low over each wolf pack in a helicopter, counting both collared and uncollared animals. They also look for uncollared wolves that are not with known packs. Besides counting wolves, they also try to capture some by shooting them with tranquilizer darts. Then they land, examine and weigh each wolf, take its temperature, take a blood sample, and give it shots to prevent common wolf diseases. They put radio collars on animals that have no collars, and replace collars that are wearing out or have weak batteries.

The official date for counting Mexican wolves is December 31 of each year. The actual count happens in mid-January. Because wolf puppies aren’t born until April or May of each year, biologists are sure that any wolf they find alive in the wild in mid-January was also there at the end of December.

Biologists count wolves in the middle of winter, rather than in the summer, because some wolf pups born in the spring don’t survive though the fall and into winter. If they counted all the pups alive in July or August, they would overestimate the number of wolves in the population the following year.

After they finish counting the lobos in the wild, project biologists write a report about what they find. Watch for the report in the news and on this website in February.

Wolves feed their neighbors (January 14)

When Follow the Pack arrived, we saw three-toed raven tracks by the hundreds covering the ground around the carcass of an elk calf killed two nights earlier by the Hawk’s Nest Pack of Mexican wolves. The wolves had fed on the elk for two nights. Now ravens, coyotes, and an immature bald eagle were eating the wolves’ leftovers.

Follow the Pack returned to the scene of the elk kill after three more days. All that was left of the carcass was a nearly bare skeleton, minus two of the legs and a few other bones. When they killed the elk, the wolves provided food not just for themselves and their family, but also for many scavengers, or animals that eat carrion, the flesh of animals that are already dead. It is very likely that other animals, such as little mice, nibbled on the bones during the night. Many animals ate, and not a scrap was wasted.

In the field (January 4)

Follow the Pack will be in the field in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area for a few days. We'll be looking for Mexican wolf tracks and scat, listening for wolf howls, and watching carefully for the wolves themselves. If we're very, very lucky, we may catch a glimpse of a lobo in its thick, winter coat.

Because many roads may be covered in deep snow, we can't be sure which wolf territories we'll be able to visit. We hope to check on at least one pack in Arizona and one in New Mexico. We'll let you know what we find after we return. We may not find anything. Mexican wolves are usually very shy and difficult to see.

More snow expected in lobo recovery area (December 22)

Lobos in the wild continue to travel widely as another winter storm moves into the Mexican wolf recovery area this week. A foot or more of new snow is expected to fall in the Arizona portion of the recovery area, with a little less in New Mexico.

Tracking wolves in the snow can be fun, but campers hoping to see or hear Mexican wolves need to be prepared for overnight low temperatures just a few degrees above zero. The wind will make it feel even colder. Human wolf trackers often use snowshoes or cross-country skis to help them move in deep snow. The wolves are better adapted to winter conditions. Their fur keeps them warm, and their large feet help keep them from sinking into the snow.

Snow makes tracking easier (December 16)

Biologists looking for Mexican wolves without radio collars find their job easier when there is snow on the ground. It's easier to see where a wolf crossed a snow-covered field than it is to find a line of wolf tracks across a grassy meadow. (See a photo of Mexican wolf tracks in the snow on the Wolf Spot page on this website.)

Scientists with the wolf project also hope for good snow cover when they count Mexican wolves from the air in mid-January each year. Wolves show up better against a snowy white background than they do against dry grass, rocks, or soil. Their gray, rust, black, and cream-colored fur acts as camouflage, making them harder to see when there is no snow.

Winter comes to Mexican wolf country (December 3)

Cold, wintery weather blew into Mexican wolf country in late November. Some areas, such as the Paradise Pack home range west of Springerville, Arizona, have received several inches of snow since Thanksgiving.

Fortunately, Mexican wolves are well insulated against the cold by their thick, double-layer fur coats. Long, coarse guard hairs form a protective outer coat, while a thick, softer undercoat keeps out the chill.

Lobos' large paws act like snowshoes, helping the animals run across packed snow more easily than heavier, hoofed elk. This gives the wolves an advantage in hunting their prey.

Pups are larger; packs moving farther (October 27)

Mexican wolf pups are growing steadily. In a few weeks it will be difficult to tell them from adults from the air. Packs are moving farther from their den sites now that the pups are able to keep up with the adults. Some packs have traveled as far as twelve miles in the past week.

Because many of the pups have not been caught and collared, it can be hard to tell them from coyotes. Hunters who are shooting coyotes must be especially careful to know their targets. You can find information on how to tell wolves from coyotes in the "Wolf Spot" section of this website.

Lobos on the move; another pup collared (October 13)

Autumn is here. Pups are six months old and packs are on the move. Some adventuresome pups, like Rim pack female pup fp1186, have begun moving up to a mile away from their parents for short periods of time.

Field team members continue to trap and collar more puppies. They recently collared another Hawk's Nest pup, female pup fp1188. A previously collared pup from the Hawk's Nest pack, fp1184, lost her collar not long after it was fitted around her neck. Telemetry collars send out a radio signal that allows biologists to locate the wolves from the air or ground.

Arizona leads in pups (October 6)

Four packs of Mexican wolves in Arizona and three in New Mexico have pups this year. The Hawk's Nest pack has six living pups. Project personnel have observed four pups with Bluestem, two with Rim, and five or six with Paradise. The total number of new pups in Arizona in 2009 may be as high as 17 or 18.

In New Mexico the Middle Fork pack has four pups, San Mateo has one, and Dark Canyon has at least two, for a total of at least seven.

It is unlikely that all of these pups will survive until the end of the year, but if they do, the population of Mexican wolves in the wild could increase by as many as 25 animals.

Biologists have fitted five pups with radio collars. Unfortunately Hawk's Nest female pup fp1184 dropped her collar soon after she was collared. Apparently it wasn't quite tight enough to stay on, even with foam padding inside.

Another pup gets a collar (September 28)

Members of the Mexican wolf field team caught another pup last week and fitted her with a radio collar. She is fp1186, a member of the Rim pack. She lives with her pack in the Apache National Forest in Arizona.

Growing pups to get radio collars (September 10)

Fast-growing Mexican wolf pups are now large enough to wear radio collars. Biologists are setting traps to catch and fit collars on one or two pups from each pack. The radio collars send out a signal that the biologists can track from the air or ground, allowing them to study the pups' movements and behavior.

Adult-sized collars are a little too large for five-month-old pups, so scientists tape some foam rubber to the inside of the collar. As the pup grows, the foam rubber slowly falls apart. By the time the foam completely falls off the collar, the pup's neck has grown large enough that the collar doesn't fall off.

Sometimes the traps catch adult wolves instead of pups. Recently, the alpha male and alpha female from the Bluestem pack were caught and given new collars. Although the biologists observed only one pup with the Bluestem pack, they suspect that the pack has more pups.

Lobos on the move (August 24)

Now that pups are growing and able to move away from the den, Mexican wolf packs in the wild are no longer remaining localized close to their den sites. This year's pups are still dependent on their parents, however, and will remain with them throughout the rest of the year.

Some yearlings (young wolves born in 2008) are starting to disperse, or travel separately from their parents. Fox Mountain yearling male M1161 has moved from New Mexico to Arizona. His two yearling brothers remain with their father in New Mexico.

Two packs that denned on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, Bacho and Paradise, have now moved east onto the Apache National Forest.

Lobo "pupdate" (August 7)

There's lots of exciting puppy news in the Mexican wolf project update for July. Pups are now confirmed with four packs: Hawk's Nest, Bluestem, Middle Fork, and San Mateo.

In Arizona, Hawk's Nest AM1044 and AF1110 have the biggest family observed so far. Seven pups joined the two surviving yearlings from 2008, for a total pack size of eleven animals.

The prize for the "most heartwarming story" goes to the Middle Fork pack in New Mexico, with four confirmed pups. Both alpha male AM871 and alpha female AF861 have only three legs, having lost a leg apiece, one to a non-project trap, and one to a gunshot injury.

Other packs with confirmed pups include Bluestem (Arizona) with at least one confirmed pup, and San Mateo (New Mexico) which has one pup still traveling with the pack. Four more packs have denned and may also have pups: Bacho, Rim, and Paradise in Arizona, and Dark Canyon in New Mexico.

Luna male finds new partner (July 28)

The only collared member of the Luna pack, M1156, was found on yesterday's telemetry flight with former Middle Fork female F1115. The Luna male has wandered widely, mostly in the Luna pack's home range, ever since his earlier female companion, F1118, disappeared at the end of January. Field team biologists are now listing F1115 as a member of the Luna pack.

In other pack news, two single wolves who were missing on last week's flight turned up again this week. M619, former alpha male of the Hawk's Nest pack, was found in Arizona, while F1106, a wild-born female from the Aspen pack, surfaced in New Mexico.

Three packs have confirmed pups (July 18)

Biologists have observed pups with three packs of lobos so far this year: Hawk's Nest in Arizona and Middle Fork and San Mateo in New Mexico. The Bacho, Bluestem, Paradise, and Rim packs in Arizona, and the Dark Canyon pack in New Mexico are believed to be denning, but pups have not yet been observed with these packs.

The Hawk's Nest pack, one of only two breeding pairs in 2008, was observed with seven pups in June. The alpha male and female will have to work hard to feed so many growing pups. Fortunately, they have help from two yearling wolves who are still living with the pack.

Wolves feed their neighbors (January 14)