Episode 3 of 4 - The American War on Wolves: Recovery & Reintroduction

Welcome back to The American War on Wolves, a 4-part series chronicling the historic extermination of the critical gray wolf in the United States culminating in the battle grounds of 2021 as states wrestle to determine the fate of this species.

If you didn’t get a chance to check out Episodes 1 or 2, please do so. Episode 1 provides an important foundation for understanding wolf behavior and sociology that serves as context for evaluating the policies aiming to control and manage them. Episode 2 is a walk back in time, taking us through the mid 19th century when Western Settlers ignited the wolf extermination process up through the modern day.

And here we are in Episode 3: Recovery & Reintroduction.

In this episode we are going to dissect 2 specific recovery and reintroduction programs, one that has gone quite well in Yellowstone, and one that has not gone well at all in the US Southwest for the Mexican gray wolf, also known as the lobo. It is important to understand what we can learn from each before we finish up in our 4th and final episode next week, The Battle Grounds of 2021.

As a reminder, please go support SaveOurWolves.org, our partners in making this podcast series possible. It’s a program created by The Center of Biological Diversity, an organization that has been fighting to protect wolves for decades. Please sign the digital petitions if you can, going straight to key state and federal policymakers. In addition, every listen of this podcast triggers a $1 donation to the cause. That’s right, all you need to do is listen and share it along and a donation will be triggered from the Animalia team.

Special thanks in this episode to both Michael Robinson, historian and author of Predatory Bureaucracy, as well as an active member of the Center for Biological Diversity himself. And to Rick McIntyre, renowned wolf expert and author of The Rise of Wolf 8 and The Reign of Wolf 21. You’ll be hearing a lot from both of them in this episode.

Also a shout out in this episode to Sustainable Human, a great YouTube channel who did a fantastic video on the positive impacts of wolves in Yellowstone we borrowed some audio from. Check out their full video here and please go subscribe to their channel.

In This Episode:

• 2:45 - Quick update on Red Wolves
• 4:45 - The challenges of the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program in the US Southwest
• 39:00 - A 12-minute overview on how to set Recovery Targets
• 51:21- The success of the Gray Wolf Recovery Program in Yellowstone National Park