Arizona, New Mexico: Record Number of Mexican Wolf Pups Fostered into NM and AZ?
27 Mexican wolf pups fostered into 8 dens from 5 SAFE facilities
Biologists with the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team mix together captive-born and wild-born pups as part of annual foster events. Photo courtesy of Interagency Field Team. |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A record 27 Mexican wolf pups were fostered into wild dens this spring. Now in its ninth year, fostering is helping to improve the genetic diversity of the wild population of Mexican wolves. The newborn Mexican wolf pups came from six genetically diverse litters held in five AZA Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) member institutions across the country, and were placed into eight wild dens in Arizona and New Mexico over a month starting mid-April.
“There are 27 new, more genetically diverse, endangered Mexican wolves on the landscape thanks to the combined efforts of our SAFE partners and our field team,” said Maggie Dwire, Deputy Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Read more |