Endangered wolf pups get public viewing, vaccinations at center near St. Louis

Endangered wolf pups get public viewing

ST. LOUIS — Five Mexican gray wolf pups born in May at a suburban St. Louis rehabilitation center are meeting the public and getting vaccinations.

The Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka gave the pups their inoculations Thursday as a first step toward their eventual journey into the wild.

The Mexican gray wolf was designated endangered in 1976. Officials at the center say only 42 still live outside captivity, in New Mexico and Arizona. They say introducing the pups into the wild could have a dramatic impact on the recovery of the threatened ecosystem in the western U.S.

The center says the breed became nearly extinct because of trapping and poisoning for more than a century by ranchers in the expanding population of western states.