Many people came to know and love the Mexican wolves during their four and a half years spent at our Zoo. I get asked on a daily basis where they are and/or how they are doing. The short answer is they are doing great!
The three brothers left our Zoo in November for the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York. They lived together for almost a month before Durango and Chico headed out west in December. They moved to The Living Desert in Palm Desert, California, and are adjusting to life there very well.
Diego, aka “the dark one” and M1059, stayed on at the WCC in NY state to hopefully breed with one of their females, F1143. He is 8 years old and she is 7 years old, and they share the same birthday, April 22nd. Neither one of them had ever lived with any other wolves before, other than their own families.
About a week after Diego’s brothers left him, they started the introductions to his new potential mate. Their enclosure is a full acre of wooded land with a fence through the middle dividing it in half. To begin the intros, he was on one half and she was on the other, so they could get to know each other slowly. Everything progressed in the right direction so, after a few weeks, they opened up the gates between them so they could have full access to each other. So far, so good!
Diego’s younger half-brother and his new mate live in another enclosure there, and they are recommended for breeding this year as well. All of their genes are very valuable among the Mexican Grey Wolf population, so hopefully there will be two litters of pups there this spring. All of them would be considered as potential release candidates in the future.
In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed, and if you want any further information, visit nywolf.org
–Heidi Beifus, Zoo Keeper
Photos courtesy of Wolf Conservation Center
