Associated Press
An endangered Mexican gray wolf will be released into the wild from Brookfield Zoo.
The Chicago Zoological Society, which runs Brookfield Zoo, says the female wolf will be moved Saturday to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge in New Mexico.
The 4 1/2-year-old wolf, named Ernesta, will be paired with a mate for potential release, the organization said. Wildlife biologists will put the pair through a “boot camp” to prepare them for the wild.
Zoo officials say the release will boost the species’ wild population, which is about 60 in New Mexico and Arizona. They also say Ernesta’s release will help foster genetic diversity.
Ernesta has been at Brookfield Zoo since 2010. There are 283 Mexican wolves living in 52 institutions across the U.S.