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Health & Fitness

Wolves from Endangered Wolf Center Are Headed Back to the Wild

Wesley and Ernesta, two Mexican gray wolves who once lived at the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, are about to become the species' first wolfpack to return to the wild in five years.

Two Mexican gray wolves who once lived at the Endangered Wolf Center are about to move into history.

Wesley and Ernesta were released into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area of Arizona on April 25, putting them just one step from becoming the first Mexican gray wolf pack to be released into the wild since 2008.  As a breeding pair, they are considered a wolf pack.

The mothers of Wesley and Ernesta both still live at the Endangered Wolf Center.
Between 1977 and 1980, the last five Mexican gray wolves known to exist in the wild were captured as part of a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service program to preserve them, and the species was declared extinct in the wild in 1980.

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Because of its expertise and unique facility, the Endangered Wolf Center became the cornerstone of the USFWS Mexican gray wolf recovery project. Today every Mexican gray wolf in the wild – the latest count showed 75 – can trace its roots back to the Endangered Wolf Center.

The first releases under the recovery project were in March 1998.

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The release April 25 into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area was filmed for the “Saving a Species” series produced by SeaWorld and Busch Gardens.

Virginia Busch, Executive Director of the Endangered Wolf Center, Regina Mossotti, the Center’s Director of Animal Care, and Karen Nichols, the Center’s Education Assistant, were with the film crew and U.S. Fish & Wildlife personnel to observe the release.

"It was an honor to witness such a momentous occasion,” Busch said. “Last week’s release was the culmination of months of planning and cooperation between several governmental agencies. I witnessed conservation in action last week and was very proud to be a part of the organization that helped to raise Wesley and Ernesta."

Wesley and Ernesta, who is pregnant, are taking part in what is known as a “soft release,” meaning they will be held in a large enclosure until they become acclimated to their surroundings. From there, they will truly move into the wild.

“This is such an exciting and bittersweet moment for us,” said Mossotti, who heads the Animal Care team at the Endangered Wolf Center. “We will miss them, but it’s so great to get to see them go to the wild.

“This is an amazing moment for the recovery efforts,” Mossotti said. “With only 75 in the wild, releases like this are vital to keeping numbers up and keeping it genetically healthy."

Two other members of the Center's Animal Care team -- Erin Kipp and Zac Cochran -- will travel to the "soft release" site to observe the two wolves and help ensure their health and safety.

Only two Mexican gray wolves have been released into the wild since 2008. Both were lone releases, and both were later returned to captivity.

The Endangered Wolf Center has 20 Mexican gray wolves in its population of 33 endangered canid species. Included among the 20 are the mothers of both Wesley and Ernesta.

Ernesta’s mother, Anna, is considered the matriarch of the Endangered Wolf Center. The average size of a Mexican gray wolf litter is five or six pups; Anna gave birth to 41 pups in four separate litters. Anna, now 12 years old, still lives at the Center and is usually highly visible on its public tours.

Wesley’s mother is Madre, who gave birth to him in May 2007 while in the wild in the Blue Range area. They were returned to captivity and sent to the Endangered Wolf Center after the alpha male of their pack repeatedly ventured too close to livestock.

Ernesta has not previously lived in the wild. In late October 2012, Wesley and another male Mexican gray wolf, Largo, were sent from the Endangered Wolf Center to Sevilleta, the USFWS pre-release facility in New Mexico.

Wesley and Largo made the trip in October with Ernesta, who was born at the Endangered Wolf Center in 2008 before moving to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago in 2010. Ernesta was introduced to the two males at Sevilleta, and soon mated with Wesley.

Largo’s ultimate destination has yet to be determined.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not use the names given to wolves in the managed breeding programs, instead using gender letters and numbers.  So it knows Ernesta as F1126 and Wesley as M1051.

According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the USFWS will also release a second pair of Mexican wolves into part of the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in New Mexico. The recovery area straddles the two states.

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