By Phil Carter
President, UNM Wilderness Alliance
In September 1920, the University of New Mexico football team adopted the Mexican gray wolf as its mascot. "The Lobo," it was said, "is respected for his cunning, feared for his prowess, and is the leader of the pack."
Unfortunately, the university did nothing in return for its mascot besides lip service; that year, 67 Mexican gray wolves were slaughtered in the U.S. Biological Survey's predator extermination program. The agency— later renamed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service— continued its policy of eradicating wolves until the mid-1970s, when populations held on only in remote Mexico.
Since the disappearance of wolves in New Mexico, UNM's mascot has become increasingly garish and cartoony. This is not a coincidence; rather, it symbolizes our increasing disconnection with nature. It's hard to blame the students for this disconnection, since there were simply no wild wolves to be seen within the state for more than two decades.
For the last several years, however, the UNM community and all New Mexicans have been afforded the chance to view wolves in their natural American habitat. The Blue Range Wolf Reintroduction Project, started in 1998, has released wolves across a range centralized in the Gila area of New Mexico and in eastern Arizona.
The wolves are descended from just seven wild adults captured from Mexico— the subspecies has come heart-stoppingly close to total disappearance. The recovery program has been severely weakened by misguided management and public apathy and has fallen short of its original goals.
The mandated killing of wolves that have preyed upon livestock, coupled with natural mortality, are decimating the population faster than it can recover. Only 59 wolves could be accounted for in New Mexico in 2006, compared with the projected total for that year of 100 animals. With the rate of mortality, this number could be lower today, and the Mexican gray wolf remains on a slippery slope above extinction.
The student conservation group UNM Wilderness Alliance believes that inaction on this issue is out of the question. The university, the group maintains, should be a leader in educating upon the value of wild wolves in New Mexico and should be at the forefront of defending its mascot's right to prosper.
To garner awareness among the UNM community about the current state of its mascot, UNM Wilderness Alliance is conducting events through Oct. 19 to coincide with Wolf Awareness Week. The group has collaborated with the UNM Bookstore to create a special shirt. Proceeds from sales of the shirt are dedicated to a fund for Mexican gray wolf advocacy.
Further, to demonstrate the campus community's support for its mascot, UNM Wilderness Alliance has created a wolf resolution, viewable on the group's website (www.unm.edu/unmwild). The resolution calls upon the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which oversees the Blue Range Wolf Reintroduction Project, to revise specific policies in order to achieve real success for wolf recovery. Additionally, the document urges the UNM administration to issue policies and resolutions reflecting the UNM community's desire for sustainable populations of Mexican gray wolves.
All UNM students, faculty, staff, and alumni are invited to sign the resolution through a link on the group's webpage.
These actions only represent the tip of the iceberg that UNM must be willing to undertake in support of its mascot. The Mexican gray wolf represents values that compose the spirit of the university, and there is a reason that UNM's mascot is not a cow or sheep.
The Mexican gray wolf, like all top predators, is a beautiful animal possessed of quiet dignity— the exact opposite of the glassy-eyed monstrosity at our basketball games.
The Blue Range Wolf Reintroduction Project is a unique opportunity to help restore the real, wild New Mexico, but it will require the university to voice the leadership that our mascot represents.
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