John Oakleaf Holds a Wolf Pup. Courtesy photo

NMWF News:

The population of Mexican wolves in New Mexico and Arizona continues to rise and biologists are preparing for their annual winter survey to determine exact numbers.

John Oakleaf, senior wolf scientist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will give a presentation on the wolf-reintroduction program. He’s the December featured speaker for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Wednesday series.

Oakleaf’s free talk will start at 5:30 p.m., Dec. 10., at Marble Brewery’s Northeast Heights Taproom, 9904 Montgomery, NE., in Albuquerque. 

Oakleaf and other biologists are gearing up to conduct their annual population survey of Mexican wolves in New Mexico and Arizona in coming months. The count involves tracking wolves on the ground with an emphasis on identifying groups that lack radio collars.

The next step involves tracking the targeted wolves form helicopters and darting them with tranquilizers. Once they’re captured, biologists and veterinarians will examine them, collar those that need it and release them back into the wild.

Last winter’s wolf population survey reported a minimum of 286 Mexican wolves distributed across southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. That finding marked the ninth consecutive year of population increase.

“The population’s still cruising along,” Oakleaf said. “Wolves are doing fine. A lot is put out there about individual animals, and that tells the story of that individual, which is often tragic. But most of the time, the population as a whole continues trucking along.”