Arizona Game and Fish celebrates 100th Mexican wolf pup fostered into the wild

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Wildlife biologists are celebrating a huge milestone in the Southwest!

Arizona Game and Fish, alongside New Mexico and U.S. wildlife services, fostered the 100th Mexican wolf pup into the wild. The pup and two siblings were fostered from Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico into a wild den in Arizona on April 25.

This marks the ninth year of Mexican wolf fostering in the nation. Fostering is a method used by the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team to increase genetic diversity in the wild Mexican wolf population.

Biologists carefully manage breeding to produce genetically diverse pups in the captive population. Within two weeks of being born, the captive pups are taken into the wild and mixed with wild pups that are around the same age.

Once all the animals are placed back into the wild den, the mother feeds and cares for both the wild and captive-born pups as if they’re her own. “With the help of her pack mates, the pups will be raised with the skills and knowledge needed for a life in the wild,” officials said in a statement.

At the end of 2023, officials say 257 Mexican wolves were put into the wild across Arizona and New Mexico, marking the eight consecutive year of population growth.

The Mexican wolf is listed as an endangered subspecies under the federal Endangered Species Act.

For more information on Mexican wolf recovery, visit azgfd.gov/wolf or fws.gov/program/conserving-mexican-wolf.

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