Mexican wolf heads toward Mount Taylor – New Mexico Political Report

By Hannah Grover

A female Mexican gray wolf is wandering toward Mount Taylor.

This wolf, who was given the name Ella by school children and is identified by the number F-2996, left the experimental population area by crossing north past Interstate-40.

“Ella is not just a number—she’s a sentient being, a bold young wolf charting her own path and showing us that wolves are the true agents of their recovery. By dispersing north of I-40, she’s proving that suitable, wild habitat still exists where wolves once thrived,” Claire Musser, the executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, said in a press release. “Each wolf carries unique knowledge, instincts, and personality—traits essential to building strong, resilient packs. We need all of them, and they need the freedom to roam.”

Wildlife advocates say Ella is heading in the direction of a pristine area with large elk herds, where wolves historically roamed. The advocates say Ella is near a location called Lobo Canyon, which suggests the area is appropriate for wolf populations.

Ella is the third female in three years to leave the experimental population area and head northward. A female wolf called Asha left the experimental population area twice — in 2022 and 2023 — though wildlife officials captured her in late 2023 in the Jemez Mountains near the Valles Caldera National Preserve in late 2023. Wildlife officials cited the lack of suitable mates and risks that Asha could be mistaken for a coyote and killed as reasons why they chose to capture her.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not currently have plans to capture Ella, who was roaming about 20 miles north of I-40 on Thursday.

Wildlife advocates are urging the Fish and Wildlife Service to allow wolves like Ella to move out of the experimental population area.

“True recovery of the endangered Mexican wolf will require allowing them to expand their range,” Kirk Robinson, executive director of Western Wildlife Conservancy, said in a press release. “Insisting on an artificial boundary that wolves must not cross makes no sense.”

The advocates say Mount Taylor — which is sacred to various Indigenous groups including the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni and the Pueblos of Laguna and Acoma — provides excellent habitat for Mexican wolves. 

“Twenty-seven years ago this week, the wilds of the southwest were once again greeted with the howls of Mexican gray wolves. How exciting that as we honor this anniversary, we’re also celebrating another milestone  – yet another courageous wolf is proving that wolves belong north of I-40,” Regan Downey, director of education at the Wolf Conservation Center, said in a press release.

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