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Buy Tickets Cincinnati Zoo Plays Major Role in Recovery Success for Mexican Wolves
New habitat and breeding program will further contribute to population
CINCINNATI (April 9, 2025) – Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has been instrumental in re-establishing a species that was considered extinct in the wild in the late 1970s. From assembling the annual management meeting to determine the best placement for Mexican gray wolves in human care to constructing a new habitat at the Zoo and a new breeding center at an off-site property, Cincinnati Zoo is all in on Mexican wolf conservation.
“This species was once considered extinct in the wild, and our curator of mammals, Kim Scott, has played a key role in their recovery. At one point in her career, she was responsible for nearly half of the Mexican wolves in existence,” said Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard. “She leads the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Mexican Wolf SAFE program, along with Cincinnati Zoo’s coexistence project manager Bailey Cadena, with the goal to support bi-national efforts for the conservation and recovery of this endangered species.”
To that end, experts from Mexico and all over the United States gather annually to share updates, discuss challenges, and plan future actions. They select breeding pairs based on genetic compatibility to maximize the genetic diversity of the population.
“We use this crazy complicated post it note system where everybody involved participates and talks about where moves can happen and the least logistical problems for moving these animals around the country,” said Scott. “It looks very chaotic, but in the end we have a plan for who’s going to breed and where they will go to do so.”
Some of the institutions with breeding pairs participate in a fostering program where a pup from a litter gets put into a wild den. According to Scott, wolf moms can’t count and are very good moms. They raise the additional pups along with their own, so they grow up wild.
“When wolves started being returned back to the wild in the late 90’s it was adult wolves being put out onto the landscape,” said Scott. “But animals that grew up in human care had some issues with being a little too comfortable with people. Putting pups into wild dens has been wildly successful.”
But increasing the population is just one piece of the puzzle. These wolves share spaces with people across their range. “We are forming relationships with partners and communities equipped to address the difficult realities of coexisting with wolves and are using what we learn to increase the spaces where Mexican wolves and the people living alongside them thrive,” said Cadena.
Cincinnati Zoo’s Mexican wolf residents, including three males that are celebrating birthdays today and one female, are not part of the breeding program, but the Zoo has plans to build breeding pens at one of its off-site facilities. Pups born there could participate in the foster program.
There are also exciting plans in place on site. Construction on a new Mexican wolf habitat that will feature a serene, wooded environment with hilly terrain, a sheltered den, prominent viewing points, and a pool will start later this year. Visitors will have the opportunity to observe the wolves from the main Zoo loop as well as up close from an elevated walkway. Click here to help bring this habitat to life!
“By bringing Mexican wolves onto the main Zoo loop, we’ll be able to reach more visitors with the heroic story of the Mexican wolf’s recovery and highlight the people who brought the species back from the brink of extinction,” said Maynard.
Cincinnati Zoo opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m., and visitors can find Mexican wolves in Wolf Woods until their new habitat is ready. Members can enter the Zoo one hour early. Cincinnati Zoo Memberships, sponsored by Thomas & Galbraith, are on sale now – April 30.
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