NEWS RELEASE
Sept. 6, 2024
A record 27 Mexican wolf pups were fostered into wild dens this spring. Fostering, a method in which genetically valuable captive-born pups are placed into wild packs to be raised with the skills needed for survival in the wild, has served a critical role in improving the genetic diversity of the wild population. Three of those pups, born at the Carlsbad Living Zoo in New Mexico, joined the Prime Canyon wolf pack in eastern Arizona, carrying on a long and successful history this pack has had with the fostering program.
In many ways, the Prime Canyon pack was founded on fostering. Alpha male 1471 was one of the earliest captive-born pups to be fostered into a wild den. After being born in 2016 at the Chicago Brookfield Zoo, 1471 was transported to Arizona and placed in a den with the Elk Horn Pack, where he was raised as one of their own. 1471 not only successfully reached adulthood, but eventually helped form a new pack in 2018, known as the Prime Canyon pack. As part of the pack, 1471 sired seven litters, of which, a minimum of five offspring became breeding adults themselves and produced litters of their own.
Thriving and having successfully raised several litters, the pack was a perfect choice to receive the three new pups from New Mexico, marking the third time pups were fostered into the Prime Canyon pack.
“While an amazing experience for those involved, it is not without a lot of planning and work that must go into placing captive-born pups into wild dens,” said Bailey Dilgard, AZGFD Mexican Wolf Biologist. “With the dedication, passion and work ethic of our Arizona Mexican Wolf Team and the Interagency Field Team partners, we are pleased with the marked success of our efforts and look forward to continued contributions toward recovery of the Mexican wolf.”
The Mexican wolf fostering program is a coordinated effort of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish Department, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and the Saving Animals From Extinction program.
Read more about this exciting fostering program.
