Beardsley Zoo celebrates endangered wolves during ‘Lobo Week’

One of the Mexican gray wolves at Connecticuts Beardsley Zoo, in Bridgeport, Conn. March 28, 2017. This week is Lobo Week at the zoo, marking 9 years since captive-reared Mexican gray wolves were reintroduced into the wild as part of the Endangered Species Act. less One of the Mexican gray wolves at Connecticuts Beardsley Zoo, in Bridgeport, Conn. March 28, 2017. This week is Lobo Week at the zoo, marking 9 years since captive-reared Mexican gray wolves were ... more Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Beardsley Zoo celebrates endangered wolves during ‘Lobo Week’ 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT—Sometimes when the sirens screech down Route 8, the wolves howl.

“It almost sounds like a mournful moan,” said Gregg Dancho, Beardsley zoo director, speaking in the viewing area between the two wolf pens. “I’m not sure if it’s ambulances or fire, or police.”

At least one of those frequencies intrigues the wolves, who hear the highway from across Bunnells Pond and the Beardsley Park Zoo.

Two of the animals are female Canis lupus baileyi — Mexican Gray wolves — that could be mistaken for dogs but for their searing yellow eyes and broad thick tails. Their neighbors are a male and a female pair of Canis lupus rufus, red wolves whom zookeepers hope will breed next season.

Both animals are under threat of extinction, with zoos playing an important role in their survival.

This week, the zoo celebrated the 19th anniversary of Mexican Gray wolves being reintroduced into the wild. During “Lobo Week,” zoo visitors were treated to in-person volunteers helping interpret the wolf exhibit, as well as canid-focused programming for kids in the learning center.

About 113 wild Mexican Gray wolves are roaming the Apache and Gila national forests in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico, according U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, citing a fall 2016 census by the International Wolf Center. They are often referred to as lobos, Spanish for wolf.

The two Mexican wolves at Beardsley Zoo form part of a genetic diversity reserve for potential future releases of animals into the wold. For that reason, zookeepers keep their interaction with humans to a minimum, so as not to habituate them.

The gray wolves are shy to approach the glass at the zoo’s observation room, which offers views of the wolves in their pens. Send a person into the pen, Dancho explains, and the wolves will scatter in fear.

The females may be introduced to a potential future mate through the FWS’ Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan in the next 5-10 years depending on the needs of the program.

Wolf populations haven’t exactly surged since reintroduction, but have steadily grown. That’s despite constant conflicts between the animals and ranchers, who are understandably upset when cattle or other property are preyed on by wolves. The drama has played itself out in western states for decades.

The Beardsley Zoo hopes to use the wolves to educate visitors about the importance of wild predators, including species like coyotes, bobcats and bears.

“There’s quite a few more (bears) than you think there are,” said Dancho. “If you take out predators, you’re taking out the top rung of animals that get rid of pests ... you don’t have top predators that are eating the herds, then the herds get bigger and bigger.”

“On the national level we don’t get much funding,” Dancho said of the zoo, in response to President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to social and environmental programs. Gov. Dannel Malloy also has proposed deep budget cuts.

“We do receive some support from Bridgeport, so if the state cuts the city really badly — that could affect us,” Dancho said.