SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A restless female Mexican gray wolf named Asha is set to remain in captivity through the 2025 breeding season, alongside a potential mate.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this decision on Thursday, aiming to aid the recovery of the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America.
Asha has captured public attention for her wanderings beyond the designated boundaries along the Arizona-New Mexico border.
She was found twice north of Interstate 40, most recently in December 2023, near Coyote, New Mexico, and the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson Aislinn Maestas, Asha, known as F2754 to wildlife biologists, has shown signs of bonding with a captive-born male. However, they have not yet produced pups.
The hope is that they might be released with pups, depending on the outcome of the breeding period from February to May 2025. “Our hope is that they will now spend enough time together” to produce offspring, Maestas said.
Some environmentalists believe that Asha and her mate should be released to roam freely.
Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, stated, “We should embrace the opportunity to make new scientific discoveries by allowing wolves to teach us, rather than continuing to disrupt and control their lives.”
According to the source, before her capture, Asha had ventured into the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico.
Nearly two dozen environmental groups sent a letter to state and federal officials, arguing that Asha’s movements showed that the current recovery boundaries are insufficient for the growing wolf population’s needs.
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Ranchers in New Mexico and Arizona, who have long voiced concerns about wolves preying on livestock, are wary of any potential expansion of the wolves’ range.