Federal wildlife officials say they’ve captured an endangered Mexican gray wolf in New Mexico after it strayed outside of its recovery area.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the female was found north of Interstate 40 near the town of Coyote northwest of Santa Fe on Saturday.
The wolf, known by the number 2754, was transferred to the Sevilleta Wolf Management Facility and has been paired with a male in hopes of producing pups in the coming year. Officials plan to return the wolf to the wild in the spring or summer.
They say the choice to capture the animal was out of concern for her safety as wolves are often mistaken for coyotes and shot.
“Dispersal events like this are often in search of a mate,” said Brady McGee, Fish and Wildlife Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator, in a statement. “As there are no other known wolves in the area, she was unlikely to be successful, and risked being mistaken for a coyote and shot. By pairing her with a carefully selected mate in captivity, we are hoping she will breed and have pups this spring. The best outcome for her is to be released back into the wild, where she and her offspring can contribute to Mexican wolf recovery.”
Wolf advocates, however, said the wolf should have left alone to repopulate its historic range.
“This wolf posed no threat to anyone,” said Bryan Bird, Southwest program director for Defenders of Wildlife. “She should be allowed to roam, to seek her own destiny. Wolves will naturally repopulate their historic range and we should be facilitating that instinct and preparing the way with facts and common-sense activities.”
The wolf reportedly left the recovery area in October and was captured 300 miles away.