Yearling Competes with Wolf Pups for Mom’s Attention

This is what motherhood looks like. A critically endangered Mexican gray wolf living at the Wolf Conservation Center (WCC) made a priceless contribution to the recovery of her rare and at-risk species on April 26 – she had pups! This is the second litter born to Mexican gray wolf Trumpet (F1505), and it appears her one-year-old daughter, “Babs“, misses getting Mom’s attention. Beyond being adorable, this family represents the Center’s active participation in an effort to save a species on the brink of extinction. The WCC is one of more than 50 institutions in the U.S. and Mexico participating in the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan – a bi-national initiative whose primary purpose is to support the reestablishment of Mexican wolves in the wild through captive breeding, public education, and research. The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) or “Lobo” is the most genetically distinct lineage of gray wolves in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most endangered mammals in North America. By the mid-1980s, hunting, trapping, and poisoning caused the extinction of Lobos in the wild, with only a handful remaining in captivity. In 1998 the wolves were reintroduced into the wild as part of a federal reintroduction program under the Endangered Species Act. Today in the U.S., there is a single wild population comprising only 131 individuals - an increase from the 114 counted at the end of 2017. Visit the WCC website to watch them via live webcams! For more information about wolves and the WCC’s participation in wolf recovery, please visit our website at . Follow us on Facebook - Find us on Twitter - And on Instagram -