More than $100K reward offered after protected Mexican gray wolf found dead in Arizona
Hope was last seen traveling with another critically endangered Mexican gray wolf, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Mexican gray wolf. Credit: Animalia
Wildlife officials are offering a reward of more than $100,000 for information that leads to a prosecution of the death of a federally protected wolf.
The female Mexican gray wolf, known as Hope, was found dead on November 7 near Forest Service Road 2058 and East Spring Valley Road, an area northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona where she had been living, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
Her loss is a devastating blow to the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf species, which has fewer than 260 individuals left in the wild.
The USFWS said the mortality was not related to agency management actions and no further details about Hope’s death have been released, with the incident still under investigation.
The location where Hope’s body was found, via Google Maps
Wildlife officials, NGOs, and private individuals have pledged a total reward of $103,500 for animal information that results in a "successful prosecution" in the case.
USFWS is offering a reward of up to $50,000, while the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish are also offering rewards of up to $1,000, respectively. Conservation groups and others have pledged additional funds of up to $51,500.
"Killing a Mexican wolf is a violation of state law and the Federal Endangered Species Act and can result in criminal penalties of up to $50,000, and/or not more than one year in jail, and/or a civil penalty of up to $25,000," the USFW said in the statement.
The agency said Hope was first documented in early the summer, when she was captured, equipped with a GPS collar, and released back into the wild in July.
The wolf had been documented outside of the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA), traveling with another Mexican wolf, known as Mystery.
Hope when she was collared in July 2024. Photo: Western Watersheds Project. Received from a public records request.
Efforts to capture the pair and translocate them back to the MWEPA started in October and were ongoing when Hope was found dead. Mystery’s whereabouts remain unaccounted for.
According to USFWS announcement of Hope’s death, DNA analysis revealed she had dispersed from the Tu Dil Hil pack in the MWEPA.
Conservation groups have expressed shock and outrage at Hope’s death and called for anyone responsible for her death to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“In every photo we saw of Hope, her collar was plainly visible. If she was shot, the shooter had to know she wasn’t a coyote,” said Cyndi Tuell, Arizona and New Mexico director at Western Watersheds Project. “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.”
On Instagram, the non-profit based in Idaho, wrote in a statement on Instagram that Hope’s "presence west of Flagstaff had become a symbol of resilience.”
"Hope wasn't just a wolf,” the post continued. “She was a powerful reminder of what could be—a thriving, balanced ecosystem where wolves reclaim their rightful role.
"Her dispersal from the Tu Dil Hil pack and her bold establishment of territory north of Interstate 40 defied outdated ideas of where wolves belong,” the post added.
Mexican gray wolves are one of the most endangered mammals in North America, according to the Wolf Conservation Center. Due to hunting, trapping, and poisoning practices, the subspecies was nearly extinct by the mid-1980s.
Anyone with information is urged to call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents in Pinetop, Arizona, at (346) 254-0515; or the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief at (800) 352-0700; or the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish’s Operation Game Thief at (800) 432-4263.
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