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Endangered Mexican wolf pups enjoy play time

Endangered Mexican wolf pups

have become stars

at the Museum of the Desert

Location: Saltillo, Mexico

as conservationists seek

to bring the species back

from the brink of extinction

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR OF THE LIVING DESERT AREA OF THE SALTILLO MUSEUM OF THE DESERT, FERNANDO TOLEDO, SAYING:

"This is the fifth litter we've had at the museum and it's the biggest. There are eight pups, four males and four females and I presume that this is one of the biggest litters that our country has had. They're doing well. Like you've seen it's hard to take their photo because they are animals that are constantly hiding, which speaks to the instincts they have in the wild to avoid predators."

The Mexican wolf population

was nearly wiped out in the 1970s

due to threats from

1. farmers protecting their cattle

2. poaching

3. habitat loss

Source: Museum of the Desert

There are only about 30

of this species left in the wild in Mexico