A female Mexican wolf has been observed north of Interstate 40, outside of the designated Experimental Population Area, as reported by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By Thursday, March 27, she was about 20 miles north of I-40 in the vicinity of Mount Taylor.

Mexican gray wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act, which lists them as federally endangered. People, including landowners, are not allowed to harm, capture, or kill these wolves unless they pose an immediate threat to human safety. Breaching this law can lead to a civil fine of up to $25,000, a criminal fine of up to $50,000, and potentially a year in prison.

If you see a Mexican wolf, leave it alone, and contact the Department of Game and Fish hotline at 1-800-432-4263.

USFWS has jurisdiction over the wolf and is actively monitoring her location. The service issued the following statement regarding the wolf:

Being the smallest and rarest subspecies of gray wolves in North America, Mexican wolves came dangerously close to extinction by the 1970s due to clashes with livestock. Recognized as endangered in 1976, a captive breeding program was initiated in the late 1970s. These wolves have been reintroduced to the wild since 1998, with conservation efforts continuing to this day.

The latest numbers from the 2024 population survey show that there are at least 286 Mexican wolves in the wild between Arizona and New Mexico, marking the ninth consecutive year of population growth; an estimated 162 of those wolves tend to reside in New Mexico.

Interstate 40 marks the upper boundary of the experimental area for Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico, according to the following USFWS 2015 Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area map. To find out more about Mexican wolf conservation efforts, click here.