Federal wildlife officials say they have, for the first time, successfully integrated wolf pups raised in captivity with a wild litter in New Mexico.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says two 9-day-old endangered Mexican wolf pups raised at a conservation center in Missouri have been adopted by a wild wolf and her litter of five in Catron County.
Endangered Wolf Center Director of Animal Care and Conservation Regina Mossotti says releasing the pups both increases with Mexican wolf population and increases genetic diversity.
The Fish and Wildlife Service this week agreed in a court settlement to develop a recovery plan for the endangered species by 2017.
The most recent annual survey shows at least 97 wolves live in forested lands in southwestern New Mexico and southeast Arizona.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com
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