It’s been a long journey for one lone Mexican gray wolf — from the forests of southeastern Arizona, across the dusty high desert of central New Mexico to the edge of what is known as the Yellowstone of the Southwest.
Her paws have seen hundreds of miles now over the last five months.
Having reached Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico, she has wandered far beyond the boundaries established along the Arizona-New Mexico border for managing the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America. The recovery area — spanning tens of thousands of square miles — is home to more than 240 of the endangered predators.
Federal wildlife managers have confirmed to The Associated Press they have no immediate plans for capturing the lone female wolf nicknamed Asha. But they will continue tracking her movements.
Known to biologists by her formal name of F2754, the wolf is outfitted with a GPS collar. Data collected since her release in June in the Apache National Forest in Arizona shows she has traversed more than 650 miles (1,046 kilometers).
From late October into early November, she was traveling about 13 miles (21 kilometers) a day. Then she began slowing down as she ventured into and out of the Valles Caldera preserve — an area that includes thick forests, vast meadows and some of New Mexico’s most famous elk herds. It’s also an area held sacred by Native American tribes in the region.
