Women and Wolves
Women and Wolves
Stories
Learn about some of the individual wolves through their unique stories and histories.
Asha
The Confined
Asha was captured from the wild by NMGAF (New Mexico Game and Fish) in 2023 and is currently being held in a captive facility. She was captured when she traveled and dispersed from her pack into northern New Mexico, crossing the I-40 boundary multiple times. This boundary limits the dispersal of the wolves into their natural habitats, confining them into the Southwest, south of I-40. Instead of being released into her natural habitat, she is being held for captive breeding purposes and will be released if she produces offspring with the male mate she was paired with. However, Brady Mcgee, the Mexcian Wolf Recovery Coordinator, states that she is being held for her safety as dispersal is often linked with finding a mate in Mexican wolves. This contradicts the inherent behaviors of Mexican wolves, where they choose who to mate with and where they disperse. Human interference impacts these behaviors to fit the arbitrary rules that these wolves are made to follow.
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Through access to public records of known wolf populations and recorded reproduction through a given "studbook", Asha herself has limited genetic variation and diversity. Through her hypothetical reproduction, her offspring would be genetically inbred and would lack beneficial traits for genetic variability. For example, Asha’s father (M1383) and mother (F1489) are genetically similar as her father’s mother is also Asha’s mother’s sister. This means that Asha’s paternal grandmother (F1280) is also genetically her maternal aunt. This raises questions of whether it is reasonable for Asha to be considered for breeding purposes as she would not be able to produce genetically viable offspring. In addition, she likely shares genetics with her paired mate as all captive wolves are related in some way. Asha herself was born into captivity but was released into the wild when she was young. Moreover, the chances of finding her own mate in the wild through dispersal increases the chances of genetic diversity if offspring is produced. For example, she could pair with either a Mexican wolf born in the wild that descends from the captive population, who are seen to share less genetics with captive-bred wolves, or a completely wild wolf that is not related in any way. This is why it is important to understand the negative effects of human interference with natural wolf behaviors.
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Below is a portion of her family tree, highlighting the intense inbreeding. ​
Hope
The Wanderer
Hope is a female wolf who made her home outside Flagstaff, Arizona, north of Interstate 40. When she was first seen in the small community of Parks, Arizona, she was unrecorded by agencies like Arizona Game and Fish and Fish and Wildlife Services. However, she was later tracked by Arizona Game and Fish, who then equipped her with a tracking collar. This device is essential for monitoring her movements and understanding her potential settling patterns. She was collared and rereleased to increase the chances of AZGAF capturing the wolf she was seen with, with the end goal of translocating them south of I-40.
The wolf Hope was seen with's name is Mystery. The gender of Mystery remains unknown, as they have yet to be tracked and collared by Arizona Game and Fish. While they have been spotted together on a few occasions, it’s unclear if the second wolf is always Mystery. What if there are other wolves in the area? This could be groundbreaking for the Mexican gray wolf community, suggesting that the population is on the rise without human interference through captive breeding and translocation practices.
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Unfortunately, on November 7th, 2024, only five months after she was first spotted, Hope was found dead along a forest service road in northern Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish has not yet released her cause of death, but they have sent out an award for people who may have information regarding her death. It is illegal to kill or harm a federally protected animal, such as the Mexican grey wolf. It is unknown if Mystery, her companion, is still alive as they remain uncollared.
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This event highlights the importance of advocacy and conservation groups to educate the public about these animals to keep them safe.
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