A coalition of conservation organizations, including the Wolf Conservation Center, today requested that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resume releasing captive-born Mexican gray wolf pairs together with their pups into Arizona and New Mexico. Releases of wolf families that survive and breed would diversify the wild population’s depleted gene pool.

The Service currently employs a “foster only” mentality for introducing captive-born wolves to the wild; a policy they’ve maintained since 2016. But while fosters are an exciting opportunity for the pups that survive, a majority of fostered pups don’t survive to adulthood and thus are unable to contribute genetically to the wild population. From 2016-2023, a total of 99 pups were fostered from captivity to the wild but only 24 were found alive in their first winter or thereafter – a 24% survival rate.

The last release of a well-bonded male/female adult pair with their offspring occurred in 2006. The Fish and Wildlife Service has reported “that 66% . . . of the initial released breeding animals with dependent pups in areas of adequate native prey have been successful.” When compared to the survival rate of fostered pups, it seems only logical that the Service would resume releases of family groups. Family group releases would not only bolster genetics and the overall numers of wild lobos, but they would also provide many captive wolves with a life they’ve only dreamt of – the wild.