Thousands of New Mexicans, biologists, and conservationists across the Southwest cheered on a young female Mexican gray wolf as she was tracked traversing the New Mexico landscape heading north in search of a mate in late December. After leaving the Rocky Prairie pack in the Mexican wolf experimental population area in late December and crossing the arbitrary Interstate 40 boundary, Asha walked 20 to 30 miles a day, successfully navigating several dangerous interstate crossings and avoiding other human threats.
On January 22nd, Asha was captured on private land near Angel Fire, New Mexico by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. New Mexico Wild and a number of other conservation groups issued a press release celebrating the wolf’s migration. The Santa Fe Reporter also published a moving piece on Asha’s journey, which you can read here.