(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Mexican wolf was once the most endangered species in the United States. That’s why the Brookfield Zoo Took part in an effort to reestablish the population in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.
Seven Mexican wolf pups were born at the zoo in April, and six of them are now in wild dens in Arizona and New Mexico, as part of a federal recovery program.
The seventh male pup will remain at Brookfield Zoo for guests to visit. He is expected to emerge from his den in the coming weeks. He’ll join a 1-year-old pup named Joe Jr.
The litter was the second born 4-year-old Vivilette and 10-year-old Amigo, each of whom have resided at the Zoo’s Regenstein Wolf Woods since 2020 and 2021, respectively, officials wrote in a press release.
The Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, has been part of the Mexican wolf program since 2003.
“Over the years, the Society has had puppies from several litters cross-fostered with wild packs, has had puppies born in the wild cross-fostered in the Zoo’s Mexican wolf pack, and even had an adult from the Zoo released to the wild and successfully raise puppies,” officials said.
According to the team that performed wolf census counts this past winter — from both the air and the ground — the 2022 population estimate represented a 23% increase from the minimum of 196 wolves in 2021.
It was the seventh consecutive year of population growth. Since 2017, the Mexican wolf population has doubled.
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