These wild lobos deserve to roam

A Mexican gray wolf named Hope and her partner have made their home north of the invisible boundary of the lobo “recovery area” — but the Arizona Game and Fish Department is considering capturing and relocating them.

Hope and her partner represent hope for the future of critically endangered Mexican gray wolves — but only if they are allowed to continue their journey.

Mexican gray wolves need more habitat

Only a small pocket of the American Southwest is officially designated as Mexican gray wolf habitat. There are just 257 wild lobos left in the world — but as this recovering population expands, it’s outgrowing the “recovery area” fast.

Together, Hope and her partner are a family of two called the Kendrick Peak Pack. Their journey is following in the pawprints of other Mexican gray wolves that have left the recovery area before. Famously, a lobo named Asha went on a pair of spectacular journeys.

Asha traveled more than 30 miles in a day to reach northern New Mexico before officials captured her and relocated her back to the recovery area. But then she left again, determined to strike out northward and expand her habitat.

This behavior should be no surprise. Leaving their home territory is natural for wolves. The process, called “dispersal,” is how a healthy wolf population grows, starts new packs, and spreads to new territories.

The Kendrick Peak Pack deserves the chance to grow and thrive.

Take action to help ensure these wild wolves can roam free

Lobos were common across the American Southwest until they were hunted to near-extinction. For 30 years they existed only in captivity, but a conservation and release program has slowly begun to return them to their wild home.

Hope, her partner, and other Mexican gray wolves like them deserve to freely roam the territory where their ancestors once lived.

Right now, the Arizona Game and Fish Department plans to equip both Kendrick Peak wolves with radio collars to more closely monitor their movements. But no decision has yet been made about whether they will be allowed to remain north of the recovery area.

By raising our voices together, we can help convince wildlife managers to let these wolves roam free.