Birthdays abound! Wolves are mono-estrus, breeding only once a year during the winter months. So springtime is birthday season! Today we celebrate Mexican gray wolf M1133!

In October of 2015, Mexican Gray Wolf M1133 (affectionately nicknamed “Rhett” by the Wolf Conservation Center’s community of webcam watchers) met a voluptuous loba – Mexican gray wolf F1226.

The Species Survival Plan (SSP) management group for the Mexican gray wolf determines which wolves should be bred each year by using software developed for the population management of endangered species. This is necessary because all Mexican wolves descended from just 7 founders rescued from extinction. Genetic diversity is the primary consideration in the selection of Mexican wolf breeding pairs and M1133 and F1226 are a great match on paper with an extremely low inbreeding coefficient.

Sometimes saving a species isn’t very romantic, but it turns out that M1133 and F1226 are a vibrant, loving, and playful pair that make it look like a whole lot of fun!

The terrific twosome bonded effortlessly. The day the wolves were officially introduced, a global audience witnessed (via webcam) the lovely lobos meet with a kiss! Their wild chemistry has continued to thrive, so much so that we’re hopeful the pair will make a valuable contribution to the recovery of their rare species by having pups this season.

Here’s hoping M1133 celebrates his 8th birthday by making a priceless contribution to the recovery of his rare species by becoming a dad!

Happy birthday, Mexican wolf M1133!