Lesson 10:Saving the Mexican Wolves

New settlers in the wolves’ territory began trapping and killingthe animals.In the late 1800s, the railroads connecting the easternUnited States to the West were completed. This made it easierfor settlers to move to the Southwest. The settlers found plentyof deer and elk in their new home. They hunted these animalsfor food and sold the meat and hides, as well. For the first time,the lobos had to compete with large numbers of humans for theirfood. It became harder and harder for wolves to find enoughdeer and elk because so many were killed by people.At around this time, the first cattle ranches were establishedin the area. Wolves occasionally ate the settlers’ livestock whenthey couldn’t find their natural prey. This upset the ranchers,who began trapping, shooting, and poisoning the Mexican wolvesout of existence. People’s historical fear of wolves may also havecontributed to the large-scale killing off of the Mexican wolf.8