On a cold November morning, a wolf roamed relentlessly southwest of Las Cruces, New Mexico, on the southern border of the United States.
He was probably driven by the call for survival and wanted to mate, the researchers say.
In his search for a mate, or for better opportunities, as happens to the hundreds of migrants who pass through the border areas, the wolf tried to cross the dangerous Chihuahuan desert, a region that he knows very well since it is the habitat of his species since time immemorial. This time, however, he was unable to cross.
The barriers that make up the border wall prevented him from crossing the border into Mexico.
"For five days he walked from one place to another, it was at least 23 miles of actual distance but, as he came and went, he undoubtedly traveled much more than that," explains Michael Robinson, director of the Center for Biological Diversity, a non-profit organization. of profit that defends and monitors species that are in danger of extinction, as is the case of this Mexican gray wolf whom they called
Mr. Goodbar.
The birth of five cubs in a zoo feeds the hope of recovering the Mexican wolf
June 6, 202100: 20
Robinson, who lives in Silver City, very close to the Gila National Forest, was the one who noticed the wolf's adventures when reviewing a map from the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service that records the locations of the wolves using GPS devices that have on their necklaces.
This
is the first time that researchers have directly observed how the border wall hinders the life of this species
that is at risk of extinction.
"Mr. Goodbar's Thanksgiving Day was sad, as his intentions to have an affair with a female and hunt deer and rabbits were thwarted," said Robinson, in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.
And he added: “But beyond the frustrations of an animal, it is evident that this again shows that the wall separates the wolves of the southwestern United States from the specimens found in Mexico.
And that situation exacerbates inbreeding in both populations ”.
A map showing Mr. Goodbar's journey as he attempted to cross the border into Mexico.Curt Bradley / Center for Biological Diversity
The dangers of the wall
The Center for Biological Diversity, and other organizations, have denounced that the border wall cuts off the connectivity of wildlife in the area.
The center has filed multiple lawsuits to stop the construction of barriers between the two countries and thus protect the population from gray wolves and other endangered animals.
In fact, on December 21, that organization announced that it
plans to sue the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for failing to protect ocelots and other species
during the construction of border levees along the border. along the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
The wall separates the wolves of the southwestern United States from the specimens found in Mexico.
And that situation exacerbates inbreeding. "
Michael Robinson, environmentalist
“It is hypocritical to use safety as an excuse to repair levees and then ignore federal laws that protect people and wildlife.
These alleged repairs are seen more as an excuse to rush the construction of the border wall
, ”said Paulo Lopes, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement.
According to the organization, more than 13 miles of levees will be built on the land of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, as well as traverse family farms and other private properties in Hidalgo County, Texas.
Ocelots have been in danger of extinction since 1982 and, according to official data, it is estimated that fewer than 50 individuals remain in the United States, all in South Texas.
Two Sumatran tiger cubs are born at the Dallas Zoo, Texas
Dec. 29, 202100: 33
Restoring their habitat, including creating wildlife corridors, is a priority for the Rio Grande Wildlife Refuge, but the levees project - which involves removing vegetation along the river to build a control zone 150 feet wide with new roads for law enforcement agencies, plus lighting systems, cameras and sensors — threatens the ocelot's habitat.
The construction of a wall on the border between Mexico and the United States was one of the main promises of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and during his tenure, some 450 miles of that project were completed.
Although the Joe Biden administration suspended construction work, Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, began construction of his own wall on December 20.
“
President Biden should tear down the wall and allow Mexican gray wolves, and other species, to roam freely
through the sublime Chihuahuan desert and its lush mountains.
We cannot allow that brutal monument to human stupidity to affect that vast ecosystem, ”says Robinson.
The vaquita porpoise could become extinct next year, specialists warn
Dec. 27, 202102: 52
Challenges to the survival of the wolf
By March 2021, the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that there are some 186 specimens of Mexican gray wolf (
Canis lupus baileyi
) in the wild, which represents an increase of 14% compared to 2020, with which the population has increased for five consecutive years.
According to data from the Mexican government, there are only 35 specimens in its territory.
In some ways, the fight for the preservation of wolves is a success story because, between 1915 and 1972, the US authorities poisoned and trapped almost all of the wolves in the wild.
Three of the last five surviving wolves, captured between 1977 and 1980, were bred in captivity along with the progeny of four previously captured Mexican wolves.
Due to a lawsuit filed by the center, the descendants of those seven wolves were reintroduced in the southwestern United States in 1998. On the Mexican side, the release of specimens began in 2011.
Planet Earth: This sanctuary works to save donkeys from extinction in Mexico
Dec. 23, 202102: 23
This subspecies is about 5 feet long, typically weighs 50 to 80 pounds, and lives in herds of four to nine animals.
Their gray and rust-colored fur is abundant.
They live from 2 to 8 years and, despite protective measures, very few die of natural causes.
Historically their habitat has been the border: they used to live throughout southwestern Texas, southern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and as far south as central Mexico.
Today they are only found in the Gila ecosystem, in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico and the Sierra de San Luis, in northern Mexico.
Despite the modest, but constant, growth of its population, activists and experts have made multiple calls in order to maintain the protections for this species that has touched total extinction.
Mr. Goodbar is the result of these measures because he was born at the Sedgwick County Zoo, in Kansas, and was released in the desert area of Arizona in 2020.
Six baby komodo dragons are born at the Bronx Zoo in New York
Dec. 14, 202101: 54
The adventurous and exploratory spirit of this wolf is part of the most basic instincts of its species.
Also, it runs in the family.
At the beginning of 2017, there were two incidents with wolves from Mexico entering the United States.
One crossed through the point where Mr. Goodbar could not make it, and then returned to Mexico.
Two months later, a female crossed into Arizona and authorities captured her to appease complaints from people linked to the livestock industry.
That specimen is still in captivity and is the mother of Mr. Goodbar.
“If the barriers remain at the border, and more are being built,
that is going to have an impact on the genetic diversity of the wolves because it could affect their reproduction
.
If the wall could be knocked down, at least in some key areas, it had to be done.
That will allow for wildlife connectivity, ”warns Robinson.
A Mexican gray wolf in a shelter in Socorro County, New Mexico.Jim Clark / AP
A problem of borders
According to researchers at the Center for Biological Diversity, wolves are not the only species threatened by the border wall.
The telemetry studies of Aaron Flesch, a researcher at the University of Arizona, have warned that the mountain owl, a bird in the area, flies at an average height of 4.5 feet, so border fences would also affect it.
In addition, other animals such as the cacomixtle and the northern fox need to travel through large areas of the Chihuahuan desert to feed and reproduce, so the barriers are an obstacle in their habitats.
In many cases, a trapped population is doomed to fail. "
Lesley Evans Ogden, Scientist
“It is speculative to suggest that a barrier may have impacted the wolf's movements (for example, without a barrier, the wolf may have traveled the same route along dirt roads, moving south and then north, or moving forward further south towards Mexico).
The wolf continues to roam widely, ”Aislinn Maestas, a public affairs specialist for the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a statement cited by the El Paso Times.
However, the ecological impacts of border barriers have been widely documented.
Roads and farmland isolate wildlife, but nothing separates some species as effectively as border walls
The fence erected between Slovenia and Croatia in 2015 could lead to the gradual extinction of the lynx in the Dinaric Mountains.
Carcasses of bears, deer and lynx that died horribly after catching on their quills are often found throughout this area.
The barrier between India and Pakistan has caused a population collapse of the Kashmir markhor (a rare wild goat).
The longest border fences in the world divide China, Mongolia and Russia isolating populations of wild asses, Mongolian gazelles and other endangered species from the steppes.
Modern wildlife researchers have warned that even in large protected areas, wildlife species are at risk of extinction if they cannot disperse and mix with populations elsewhere.
“
Genetic diversity is limited, reducing their reproductive success and making them more susceptible to disease.
Barriers prevent them from moving when conditions change.
And, due to climate change, conditions change rapidly.
In many cases, a trapped population is doomed to failure, "says scientist and popularizer Lesley Evans Ogden, in an essay published in an Oxford University magazine in 2017.
Robinson, the activist, says only once was he able to see a Mexican gray wolf in the wild.
"They are incredible animals and play a key role in balancing nature," he says admiringly.
After the marathon he ran in November, Mr. Goodbar headed north, toward the Gila National Forest where most of the Mexican wolves live, and very close to where Robinson resides, who usually hears the powerful howls and sees the resounding footprints that Those animals leave on their wanderings across the border.
“At any moment he will leave again.
That is their nature, regardless of the walls that human beings build ”, he concludes.
