Wildlife officials are seeking the publics help with information regarding the death of an endangered female Mexican wolf.
Federal and state officials announced they were offering a reward of up to $103,500 for information leading to the prosecution of someone involved in the death of the protected wolf.
Officials confirmed in a press release the Mexican wolf was found dead on November 7 in the vicinity of Forest Service Road 2058 and East Spring Valley Road in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The agencies have not shared information regarding the wolfs cause of death, but that the mortality was not related to agency management actions.
According to the press release, the US Fish & Wildlife Service put up $50,000 of the $103,500 reward.
The Arizona Game and Fish Departments Operation Game Thief and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish each added $1,000 to the reward.
The remaining $51,500 came from funding from various individuals and non-governmental organizations.
Federal and state officials are offering a reward of up to $103,500 for information leading to the prosecution of someone involved in the death a Mexican wolf
The Mexican wolf was found dead on November 7 in the vicinity of Forest Service Road 2058 and East Spring Valley Road in Flagstaff, Arizona
This animals death comes four months after officials documented the first Mexican wolf outside the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA).
Officials named that Mexican wolf Hope after she was spotted north of Interstate 40 near Flagstaff, Arizona.
Hope was captured by officials and released back into the wild in July but was found dead not too long afterwards.
Before its death, Hope was spotted travelling with another Mexican wolf, but officials revealed that animals fate remains unknown.
The Western Watersheds Project posted photos of Hope and the collar she wore last July on Facebook on November 16.
We dont know yet how Hope was killed, but if someone shot her, they must have known she wasnt a coyote, the organization wrote in its Facebook post.
The organization added that individuals are not supposed to shoot without knowing the identity of your target.
In every photo we saw of Hope, her collar was plainly visible. If she was shot, the shooter had to know she wasnt a coyote, said Cyndi Tuell, the Arizona and New Mexico director at Western Watersheds Project, in a statement to CBS News.
If someone killed Hope, the full weight of the federal and state law should be brought to bear against the person or persons who took her away from our human community which found inspiration and joy in her existence, and from the non-human community that depends upon top predators to bring balance to the landscape.
This animals death comes four months after officials documented the first Mexican wolf outside the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA)
Mexican wolves are one of the most endangered wolf subspecies in the world.
Although their numbers have grown slowly, they remain the most endangered subspecies of wolf in the world because of compromised genetics, human intolerance and reluctance to release more individuals and bonded pairs to the wild, according to Defenders of Wildlife.
Over the years, these animals were found in mountainous areas in the southwestern US and northern Mexico.
However, in recent years, individuals in the US have primarily can usually only see Mexican wolves in southeastern Arizona or southwestern New Mexico.
Despite how rare the animals are, the US Fish & Wildlife Service confirmed in a March 2024 press release that the Mexican wolf population grew for the eighth year in a row.
In the aggregate, the 2023 data points out that Mexican wolf recovery has come a long way since the first release, said Jim deVos, Arizona Game and Fish Department Mexican Wolf Coordinator.
Each year, the free-roaming Mexican wolf population numbers increase and the areas they occupy expands. Genetic management using pups from captivity is also showing results.
According to the 2023 results, at least 60 Mexican wolf packs were documented at the end of 2023: 37 in New Mexico and 23 in Arizona.