Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) –On Wednesday, the New Mexico Department of Wildlife announced that the annual population count revealed an 11.5% increase in Mexican wolves, from 286 in 2024 to 319 last year. In 1976, the Mexican gray wolf was listed as endangered and a binational captive breeding program was initiated soon after to save the wolf from extinction. The NMDW says the new data moves the recovery program one step closer to getting to the point that will support the downlisting of the wolf. There must be an annual average of 320 Mexican wolves over a four-year period to support downlisting.
