NEW MEXICO
More Mexican gray wolves roaming Southwest
ALBUQUERQUE — The recovery of the smallest subspecies of gray wolf in North America is inching forward, an annual population survey conducted by federal and state wildlife managers has found.
The survey released this year shows there are now at least 286 Mexican gray wolves roaming parts of New Mexico and Arizona — 11% more than the previous year, marking the ninth straight year that the population of endangered animals has grown. A look at the numbers also shows there are 26 breeding pairs in the wild. Of the more than 160 pups born in 2024, just under half survived to the end of the year.
The survey involves a ritual that takes place every winter — wildlife managers use remote cameras, scat collection, radio telemetry devices and helicopters to count Mexican gray wolves that are roaming mountain ranges in parts of New Mexico and Arizona…