ARIZONA NEWS
Phoenix Zoo transfers 5 Mexican gray wolves to El Paso
PHOENIX — Five of the Phoenix Zoo’s eight Mexican gray wolves have a new home in Texas.
Tulio and Tazanna and their three male pups were transferred to the El Paso Zoo as part of a cooperative breeding program between the Association of Zoos and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wolf Recovery Plan.
Tulio and Tazanna’s three female pups will remain at the Phoenix Zoo in their habitat on the Arizona Trail.
“We’ve enjoyed having them at the Phoenix Zoo these past few years, but they are needed elsewhere to contribute to making the most genetically diverse matches to help support the ongoing genetic health of wild wolves,” zoo CEO Bert Castro said Monday in a press release.
Joe Montisano, El Paso Zoo director, said the wolves have settled in well in their new home at Mexican Wolf Den located in the New Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit.
The goal is for Tulio and Tazanna, who are 4 years old, to breed soon to help boost a struggling population.
Mexican gray wolves have been an endangered species since 1976 and just 369 remain in the U.S. and Mexico, according to the release.
“The family is exploring and getting used to their new habitat,” Montisano said in the release. “They have been a welcome addition here and we are very excited to have the family at the zoo.”
