Once common throughout parts of the Southwestern U.S. and Mexico, the Mexican wolf was all but eliminated from the wild by the 1970s due to conflicts with livestock. In 1976, the Mexican wolf was listed as endangered and a binational captive breeding program was initiated soon after to save this unique gray wolf from extinction. In 1998, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service released the first captive Mexican wolves into the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area in Arizona and New Mexico. Absent from the landscape for over 30 years, the resounding howl of the endangered Mexican wolf could once again be heard in the mountains of the Southwest.

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Stories
Biologists mix pups together at a Mexican wolf foster event.
Endangered Species Act
Record Mexican Wolf Pup Foster Year
A record 27 Mexican wolf pups were fostered into wild dens this spring. Now in its ninth year, fostering is helping to improve the genetic diversity of the wild population of Mexican wolves
A person wearing latex gloves holds a young Mexican wolf pup
Endangered Species Act
100th Mexican wolf pup fostered into the wild
Partners in Mexican wolf recovery have fostered the 100th pup into the wild, marking a major milestone for the program.
A wolf technician with the Mexican wolf recovery program carries a wolf in from a helicopter.
Endangered Species Act
Mexican Wolf Population Grows for Eighth Consecutive Year
The wild population of Mexican wolves saw another year of growth in 2023, according to the results of the annual survey. The 2023 population census revealed a minimum of 257 Mexican wolves distributed across Arizona and New Mexico. This increase marks the eighth consecutive year of population...
A Mexican wolf runs near a fence at a wolf facility in New Mexico
Wildlife Management
Female Mexican Wolf Captured and Paired with Mate in Captivity
Female Mexican wolf 2754 (aka Asha) was captured on Saturday, December 9, 2023, north of Interstate 40 near Coyote, NM.
A Mexican wolf runs near a fence at a wolf facility in New Mexico
Endangered Species Act
Mexican Wolf Located North of Interstate 40 in Northwest New Mexico
A female wolf (F2754) has been documented crossing out of the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA) north of Interstate 40 in New Mexico. The wolf is affixed with a radio collar, which is transmitting its location. She was documented crossing the I-40 boundary west of Albuquerque late...
A close image of a Mexican wolf pup licks the mouth of an adult Mexican wolf
Endangered Species Act
How Mexican Wolves Were Saved From Extinction
When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted in 1973, wolves were among the first species to be put on the list. Having stood on the precipice of extinction, the ESA not only halted the killing of wolves across the country but also called for actions to restore their numbers. The Mexican wolf...
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The Mexican wolf is the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America. Once common throughout portions of the southwestern United States, the Mexican wolf was all but eliminated from the wild by the 1970s. In 1977, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated efforts to conserve the species. In 1998, Mexican wolves were released to the wild for the first time in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area within the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area. Missing from the landscape for more than 30 years, the howl of the Mexican wolf can once again be heard in the mountains of the southwestern United States.

This web mapping application displays generalized Mexican Wolf locations as recorded by the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team (IFT). These locations might have been obtained through aerial surveys or GPS-enabled collars used to track animal movements.

Our Species

The Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), is the smallest, southern-most occurring, rarest, and most genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf in North America. Mexican wolves typically weigh 50 - 80 pounds and measure about 5 ½ feet from nose to tail, and stand 28 to 32 inches at the shoulder. They have a distinctive, richly colored coat of buff, gray, rust, and black, often with distinguishing facial patterns; solid black or white variations do not exist as with other North American gray wolves.