Mexican gray wolves make zoo new home. (News from Zoos).

The National Zoo announced that it has made a home for three Mexican gray wolves as part of an international recovery effort to reintroduce the highly endangered wolf subspecies into the wild in Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. At a news conference this morning at the new wolf exhibit, located uphill from the seal pool, zoo and animal conservation officials said the wolves will stay at the zoo until they can be released into a wilderness area in either Arizona, New Mexico or Mexico.

The National Zoo participates in the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan (SSP), which manages the Mexican wolves held in captivity. The SSP and the US Fish and Wildlife Service work cooperatively to support the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, the international effort to reintroduce Mexican Wolves.

The Mexican gray wolf is the most rare and genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf in North America but have not been seen in the United States and Mexico since 1970 and 1980, respectively. There are about 200 Mexican gray wolves living today, and nearly all of them were born and raised in captivity.

Conservation officials said they work with the ranchers to try to keep the wolves away from humans and livestock, and they attach radio collars to the animals to track their whereabouts. [Adapted from an article by Karlyn Barker, The Washington Post]

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