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Missouri

Wolf pup born in Missouri offers hope for endangered breed

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Regina Mossotti, director of animal care and conservation at the Endangered Wolf Center, holds a Mexican wolf born April 2 at the facility Monday, April 24, 2017, in Eureka, Mo. The wolf was conceived by artificial insemination which is offering new hope for repopulating the endangered species by using sperm that had been frozen. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (The Associated Press)

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    Regina Mossotti, director of animal care and conservation at the Endangered Wolf Center, holds a Mexican wolf born April 2 at the facility as veterinarian Rhiannon McKnight, right, watches Monday, April 24, 2017, in Eureka, Mo. The wolf was conceived by artificial insemination which is offering new hope for repopulating the endangered species by using sperm that had been frozen. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (The Associated Press)

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    Regina Mossotti, director of animal care and conservation at the Endangered Wolf Center, pulls a Mexican wolf born April 2 at the facility out of his den to give it a quick checkup with veterinarian Rhiannon McKnight, left, Monday, April 24, 2017, in Eureka, Mo. The wolf was conceived by artificial insemination which is offering new hope for repopulating the endangered species by using sperm that had been frozen. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (The Associated Press)

EUREKA, Mo. – A Mexican wolf born this month at a wildlife center in suburban St. Louis is offering new hope for repopulating the endangered species through artificial insemination using sperm that had been frozen.

The Mexican wolf population once numbered in the thousands but was nearly wiped out by the 1970s, largely from decades of hunting, trapping and poisoning. It was designated an endangered species in 1976.

Even today, only 130 Mexican wolves live in the wild and another 220 live in captivity, including 20 at the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, Missouri.

A litter of Mexican wolves was conceived by artificial insemination in Mexico in 2014. But the birth April 2 at the Missouri center was the first-ever for the breed using frozen semen. Officials at the center say the male pup is doing well.