Wandering endangered Mexican gray wolf Asha released with pups

After more than a month of unexplained delay, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released endangered Mexican gray wolf Asha, her pups and her mate into the wild Wednesday.

“Hopefully at some point we’ll understand why it was delayed,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of the Western Watersheds Project. “But for today, we’re just celebrating the fact that we’ve got seven sets of paws on the ground.”

While U.S. Fish and Wildlife confirmed the wolf pack release, the agency still has not explained why the release date was pushed back. Concerns about wolves killing livestock flared earlier this year in Catron and Socorro counties, and Anderson believes the delay was politically motivated.

Female wolf F2754, nicknamed Asha, captured public imagination when she twice wandered outside the experimental population area where Fish and Wildlife is working to recover the species. In 2023, Asha was placed in captivity at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in the hopes she would breed.

“I think at the time, their reasoning was they didn’t want her to keep running north,” Anderson said. “We think that’s a mistake. She should be allowed to go where she wants. It’s a happy circumstance that she’s back out and free and wild, and there’s puppies, but letting wolves determine their own recovery area makes the most sense.”

This spring, the agency celebrated when Asha gave birth to five pups.

Fish and Wildlife planned to release Asha, her captive-born mate M1966 and her pups on Ladder Ranch in June. The agency timed the proposed release during the peak of elk calving season to encourage the pups to learn to hunt elk instead of developing a taste for livestock, according to a translocation proposal. The private land is managed by Turner Enterprises, which focuses on ecotourism and conservation.

The release was abruptly delayed with no explanation. Despite repeated requests from advocacy groups and the Albuquerque Journal for an explanation, none has been offered.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not break the news of the wolf pack’s release. Instead, advocacy groups who have been asking for the pack’s release shared the update Thursday. Fish and Wildlife confirmed the information.

“The pack will add to the genetic diversity in the wild population, helping meet recovery goals,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. “The Service is aware and shares the increasing concerns in the community about negative impacts to ranching from the growing wolf population. We, with the Interagency Field Team, are committed to immediately addressing any conflicts if/when they arise in partnership with the local community.”

Livestock kills declined in 2024 to 99 from 111 in 2023.

But cattle ranchers in Catron County raised the alarm earlier this year that they were concerned about more wolf kills. In April, Fish and Wildlife killed a 5-year-old male wolf from the Hail Canyon pack near Reserve because the pack was connected to seven confirmed and two probable livestock kills.

The Catron County Commission issued an emergency declaration over wolf kills that same month. The Socorro County Commission followed suit in May.

“The Mexican Grey Wolf Recovery Program (MGWRP) was imposed on the people of Catron County by the federal government even though livestock production is a key positive socioeconomic factor, and major land use in Catron,” the Catron County emergency declaration reads.

Mexican gray wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Killing or harming an endangered species can result in a hefty fine or jail time.