After a long drive from the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY, Mexican gray wolf brothers M1058, M1059, and M1060 (Chico, Diego, and Durango) were introduced to their new home at the Wolf Conservation Center under the setting sun.

The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) or “lobo” is the most genetically distinct lineage of wolves in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most endangered mammals in North America. By the mid-1980s, hunting, trapping, and poisoning caused the extinction of lobos in the wild, with only a handful remaining in captivity. In 1998 the wolves were reintroduced into the wild as part of a federal reintroduction program under the Endangered Species Act. Today in the U.S., there is a single wild population comprising only 109 individuals.