Raul Jimenez leading pack to help save endangered wolf
Wolves footballer Raul Jimenez has launched a campaign to help save the endangered Mexican wolf.
The Mexican striker has joined forces with Wolves and and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and is calling on supporters to #ProtectThePack – or #ProtegeALaManada in his native Spanish.
Funds raised through the campaign will be distributed to protecting the Mexican wolf, a species with just 30 to 50 units in the wild and on the brink of extinction.
The Wolves striker, who has been given the nickname ‘Lobo Mexicano’, or ‘Mexican wolf’, in his homeland, is calling for supporters across the world to back the campaign.
He said: "I love wolves, they are amazing. Be part of my team, take care of the Mexican wolves, because they are the guardians of the forests."
The campaign is being led by the Mexican branch of the WWF, with the support of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), helping 22 wolves to be reintroduced into the wild.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of the wolves to nature and raise funds from football fans and the general public to help an international program of reintroduction of wolves to their natural habitat, with the aim of reproducing this species.
Jorge Rickards, general director of WWF Mexico, said: "Wolves are key to nature. They maintain the balance of the ecosystems and their presence keeps the rivers healthy, since they hunt large herbivores that consume huge amounts of vegetation.
"With wolves, species that give life to rivers, such as beavers, thrive.”
Roberto Avina Carlin, head of the CONANP, said: "Our goal is to remove this species from the list of endangered species and the goal that our bi-national team has set is to have 200 wolves in the wild in Mexico and 300 in the United States, which we hope to achieve in 20 or 25 years.
“We know there’s still a lot of work to do, so we’re humbled and honoured to receive the support of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Raul Jimenez, a leader on and off the pitch.”
Russell Jones, head of marketing at Wolves, added: "We all have a responsibility to preserve our environment, and on behalf of Wolverhampton Wanderers, I want to say how excited we are to do our part and announce this alliance with WWF Mexico.
“Together we will do our best to protect the Mexican wolf and preserve nature.
The WWF's campaign is only available in Spanish at www.wwf.org.mx, but can be translated via Google, alternatively visit www.wwf.org.
