Today, Wolf Haven International joins thousands of people and organizations in celebration of Endangered Species Day. It is the 40th anniversary of the momentous occasion when the Endangered Species Act was put into place, recognizing the imperiled status of far too many creatures, and creating federal protections for them.

For our part, Wolf Haven is an active player in two different Species Survival Plan programs for critically endangered types of wolves. Since we were selected to participate in the Mexican gray wolf SSP program in 1994, five litters of these pups have been born here and two packs (11 wolves total) released into their historic range in the southwest.

In 2003, Wolf Haven began participating in the Red Wolf SSP plan. Both the Red wolf and the Mexican gray are indigenous to this continent, and not found in the wild anywhere else in the world. We currently house 11 Mexican gray and 4 red wolves, a few of which may be seen during a guided walking visit of our sanctuary.

There are still far too many species threatened with extinction due to critical habitat loss, poaching, and misunderstanding. Although Endangered Species Day is officially celebrated today, all of us must keep them in the forefront of our minds and hearts everyday – and do what we can to prevent the loss of even ONE more threatened species.