Federal wildlife officials say the number of endangered wild Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico has reached its highest number since the recovery program began nearly 20 years ago.
A minimum of 113 wolves were recorded at the end of 2016. That’s up from 97 the year before. Representatives with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they’re encouraged by the increase, but more work needs to be done to reach the goal of 10% annual population growth. The yearly count found 21 packs in the wild and 50 pups that survived through the end of the year. That’s twice the number of pups that survived 2015. 13 wolf deaths were documented in last year.