Defenders of Wildlife Southwest Program Director Bryan Bird issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service release of Mexican gray wolf f2754, a female from the Rocky Prairie pack, back to Arizona after it was captured crossing Interstate 40 hundreds of miles away from the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area. Her movement toward Colorado shows the Mexican gray wolf’s ability to thrive outside its arbitrarily designated population area in Arizona and New Mexico.
“Asha, the female Mexican gray wolf wandered north towards Colorado, her movement is encouraging and serves as more evidence that there is good wolf habitat in northern New Mexico,” Bird said.” The timing of Asha’s release following a hearing on the recovery plan in court may be fortuitous.”
The release comes days after a federal hearing on the potential rewrite of the Mexican gray wolf recovery plan -- petitioned for by Defenders and partners in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit -- which could have a positive impact on the wolf’s freedom to roam northward.
For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.
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