Officials Plan to Release First Mexican Gray Wolf into Wild since 2008

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency is planning to release an alpha male Mexican gray wolf into the wild, in a bid to expand its population.

This is the first in the last four years that wildlife officials have decided to release an adult male, hoping it would mate with an alpha female and form a breeding pair. The male wolf will be released in the Apache National Forest in Arizona and New Mexico.

"When the release occurs, the male will hopefully connect with the alpha female who has not mated with another male yet and form a breeding pair in the wild, which is the ultimate goal of this process," said Tom Buckley, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to Cronkite news service.

The officials chose the single alpha male wolf after carrying out tests to find out which male shares the best chemistry with the females in the pack, reports Fox News Latino.

Mexican gray wolves once thrived in large areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. With increasing human settlements, the population of wolves drastically reduced and was on the verge of extinction in the early 1900s. Following their population decline, the wolves were protected under the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s.

A recovery program was launched in 1998 and captive-bred Mexican gray wolves were released into the wild to expand their population. Since the recovery program began, the population of wolves has increased. According to the Cronkite news service, there are at least 58 Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico.

As part of the recovery program, wildlife officials have decided to resume the release of wolves into the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency along with Arizona Fish and Game department has decided to set out only one male wolf into the wild, a decision that has not gone down well with some conservationists.

These conservationists point out that the release of just one male wouldn't be enough. They insist on letting out at least a dozen gray wolves to expand their population.