Wildlife officials say they’ve captured an endangered Mexican gray wolf near Flagstaff.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say the female was found on U.S. Forest Service lands north of Interstate 40, the northern boundary for the population.
The animal was collared and released back into the wild, which officials say could help them locate a second Mexican wolf that’s also known to be in the area.
Officials will monitor the wolf’s movements and if both are found to be north of I-40, the animals will be relocated back to their population area in eastern Arizona and New Mexico.
It’s a violation of federal law to harass, harm or kill the federally protected wolves unless they threaten human safety.
Wolf advocates have long called for expanding Mexican wolf territory farther into northern Arizona, the Grand Canyon region and beyond.
At last count earlier this year, there were at least 257 Mexican gray wolves in the wild in the Southwest. It was a 6% increase from the previous year.