A pair of Mexican gray wolves are certainly doing their part to protect their endangered species as they recently welcomed a litter of seven puppies at an Albuquerque zoo.
On Tuesday, ABQ BioPark announced their wolves Kawi and Ryder are now proud parents to a whopping seven pups (or "lobos"), who also recently emerged from their den to explore their new surroundings.
Tragically, Archer was the only member of his three-puppy litter to survive.
According to a press release from the zoo, mortality is high in litters born to a first-time mother, like Kawai, and around 30% of gray wolf pups don't actually make it to their first birthday.
The seven puppies were born back in May and have been hidden away in their underground den with Kawi ever since. As it turns out, she's quite the protective mamma, so zoo staff have made sure to give her space so she can bond with her babies.
For the past few weeks, staff have only been able to view the pups by camera, but they'll soon have their first exam at which point their sexes will also be determined.
"The ABQ BioPark has played an important role in Mexican wolf recovery over the years and we're proud to contribute to the survival of this critically endangered sub-species," she said in the press release. "Every new lobo that we welcome boosts overall survival of wolves in the wild."
In the video above, we can see Kawi and Ryder supervising their litter as the curious pups roam their new environment, taking in all the new sights, sounds, and smells, and of course getting some much-needed playtime in as well.
This sub-species of the gray wolf were largely wiped out by the mid-1970s, and have continued to be considered endangered due to compromised genetics and human intolerance.
Since 1983, Albuquerque's BioPark has welcomed 79 Mexican gray wolf pups as part of a cooperative breeding program between the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Wolf Recovery Plan.
h/t: BioPark
