[large thumbnail url="mexican-gray-wolves-face-new-challenges-
in-struggle-for-survival" filename="news" year="2011" month="07"
day="13"] [thumbnail icon url="mexican-gray-wolves-face-new-
challenges-in-struggle-for-survival" filename="news" year="2011"
month="07" day="13"] Life isn’t getting any easier for Mexican
gray wolves struggling against extinction. Both politics and
nature have produced new hurdles for an animal reintroduced in
1998 to vast native ranges in Arizona and New Mexico. Currently,
about 50 wolves live in the wild. The Wallow Fire, which
scorched more than a half-million acres, mostly in Arizona,
blazed through prime wolf habitat. A June 21 U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service update said there was no evidence wolves had
been killed in the fire. Adult wolves wearing radio collars were
located near three dens in the burn area, but wildlife officials
were still trying to determine whether pups survived. The report
gives a status report on 10 packs, all of which were “exhibiting
denning behavior.” It