A record number of captive-born wolf pups has been placed into the wild as part of an effort by federal and state wildlife managers to boost the genetic diversity among Mexican gray wolves in the Southwestern U.S.
The interagency team announced the results of this season's cross-fostering program Thursday. They say the work of integrating the 20 pups into wild wolf packs took place in April and May. A dozen pups were fostered into four packs in eastern Arizona. Eight were spread among three packs in New Mexico. The most recent survey shows there are more than 160 wolves in the wild in the two states.
