Mexican wolf breeding programme gets boost from zoo

The wolves of a four-decade, binational programme between the United States and Mexico to breed the grey wolves in captivity and release them back into the wild

Mexican wolf pups eat a quail carcass in their enclusure at Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City. Picture: Fernando Llano/AP

Five grey wolf pups born at Mexico City’s Chapultepec Zoo are giving a boost to efforts to broaden the endangered species’ genetic diversity amid continuing efforts to reintroduce the animals to the wild decades after they were reduced to captive populations.

The pups’ father, Rhi, alerts them every midday to the delivery of breakfast, in the form of chicken and quail meat brought by zookeeper Jorge Gutiérrez, 58.