Endangered lobos, or Mexican gray wolves, are descending on Tucson Saturday, September 3rd through the 17th as Defenders of Wildlife and local businesses host 50 wolf silhouette art pieces. The Tucson lobos, displayed on the outside of buildings all over the city, represent the 50 wolves now living in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico.

Lobos once roamed central Mexico across the Southwest. But by the mid-1970s persecution left them almost extinct. Mexican gray wolves were saved by a captive breeding program, and the first wolves were released in 1998. Defenders of Wildlife has been a leader in their recovery, working with ranchers, educators, the public, biologists, and agencies to build support for wolf recovery. Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, lobos are slowly making a comeback. In 2010 the population grew for the first time in four years – lobos are back, but they still need our help.

Join Tucson businesses and organizations in celebrating the return of El Lobo and you can win cool prizes. Find at least 10 wolves in this citywide scavenger hunt and you will be entered in a drawing to win the Grand Prize – an Apache Wilderness Journey for two, a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity to immerse yourself in Apache culture and a chance to see Mexican wolves in the wild – valued at  $3,000. There are many other prizes tied to how many wolves you find, and you can get hints and more information at  www.whereslobo.org. Thanks for helping us welcome Mexican wolves back to Tucson and the Southwest.

Just as important, Tucson friends, we need your help to prepare for our upcoming “Where’s El Lobo?” scavenger hunt. We are looking for people to help us post and take down the 50 beautiful art silhouettes on Saturday, September 3rd and on Sunday, September 18th. All that you have to do is go to designated areas around town with your team, place the wolf silhouettes on the designated buildings, and then help remove them when the contest is over. Even if you can only make one day your help would be tremendously appreciated!

You can sign up for the event here and we’ll throw in a Defenders ball cap for your help!

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