The Living Desert Reserve currently has two Mexican wolves on exhibit. They are both males. One is resting in the shade by the rock. The other one was down below, in the pool, when I came by the other afternoon. It is unusual to see them out in the afternoon, since, like dogs, they are usually resting. The one by the pool looked up when I accidentally snapped a part on my camera. He followed the sound with his head and looked directly at me. That is unusual, too. I was able to follow him along the trail and get several pics of him! The Mexican wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf and is the most endangered subspecies. They are sometimes released back into the wild in eastern Arizona, almost to the New Mexico border. We actually visited the wolf recovery release area in 1999. It is very mountainous there with a lot of rock caves for dens. UNFORTUNATELY, several of the wolves released there were killed by humans. The Living Desert actually went and picked up one of their females and brought her back to the reserve from Arizona when another one which was released was killed. Breeding stock is important for this species and the loss of one wolf is devastating. I have always enjoyed visiting the wolf enclosure and watching the wolves there. There is a wolf center in Julian, which is about an hour away, and I would like to visit it some Saturday. The Julian Wolf Center is located in Julian, CA. Here is the link to their website: http://www.californiawolfcenter.org/index.htm
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