Free Asha, the wild wolf, and her packmates
Originally published in the Las Cruces Sun News: https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/opinion/2024/07/18/free-asha-the-wild-wolf-and-her-packmates/74431565007/
By Mary Katherine Ray Wildlife Chair, Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club
I remember being amazed by the travels of the wild Mexican wolf named Asha. She roamed hundreds of miles not once but twice from Arizona, across New Mexico, and northwards nearly to the Colorado border. She crossed busy highways and skirted large population centers without being seen or getting into trouble with humans. Her independence captured our imaginations and her bravery captured our hearts. But in the end, she was the one who was captured and placed into captivity twice; the second time in December 2023, she was taken from the Valles Caldera National Preserve which offers perfect habitat for Mexican wolves. Both of her journeys, after crossing north over the arbitrary boundary of Interstate-40, were prohibited by Fish and Wildlife Service’s wolf reintroduction rules.
Once again in captivity, the wild born Asha was placed with two captive born males; brothers called Arcadia and Horizon. The hope was that Asha would choose one of them for a mate. And she did! She and Arcadia were observed in multiple breeding events, but unfortunately, the two did not produce pups for a reason that is not known.
We know wolves, like people, develop strong social bonds. Asha having mated with Arcadia is tangible evidence that the two created a relationship even though no pups were forthcoming. The Fish and Wildlife Service promised to release them to the wild this summer even without pups. It is now summer and they are still in captivity. Why?
Asha is likely to run north again, looking for a mate, if she is released alone. But consider her motives. She likely was looking for a mate. Now that she has one and she, Arcadia, and Horizon are a pack , the motivation to run no longer exists. Plus, Asha is in a unique position of knowing how to live in the wild and how to avoid conflict with humans. She is the ideal wolf to teach Arcadia and Horizon to do the same. As social beings, wolves learn from each other.
Science has demonstrated that canines such as wolves dream. Does the captive Asha dream about running free through the forest, along streams, over meadows, about the places she saw, and about being able to choose for herself her own destiny? I urge the NM Department of Game and Fish and the US Fish and Wildlife Service give Asha back her dreams and return her to the wild. It is summer now. Keep that promise.
Asha, her mate Arcadia, and his brother Horizon form the Caldera pack which rightly should be free and wild.
Mary Katherine Ray is the volunteer Wildlife Chair for the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club. She lives in a remote part of the Gila bioregion where lobos can and do run free.
