These are the rarest gray wolves in America -- and they're in danger
These are the rarest gray wolves in America -- and they're in danger
- Thu, Nov 5 at 11:26 AM
Did you hear about the latest threat to wolves, Mark M?
A recent executive order called for the first step toward eliminating federal gray wolf protections.1 This could dismantle protections for gray wolves like those who live in Yellowstone National Park -- but the order takes aim at a lesser-known wolf population, too.
Mexican gray wolves, sometimes called lobos, are also at risk. Here's what you should know:
Lobos are a subspecies of gray wolves who are native to the American Southwest. They are smaller than their northern cousins: Lobos typically weigh 50 to 80 pounds, while the largest gray wolves can reach more than twice that size.2,3
While gray wolves can sometimes be all white or all black, lobos always have distinctive gray-and-brown coats with white on their face.4
As few as 319 lobos roam the forests and valleys of Arizona and New Mexico, making them the rarest subspecies of wolves in North America.5
Yes. With only a few hundred wild lobos remaining, their population is at risk of extinction if they are not carefully protected.
It's happened before: In the early 1900s, concentrated efforts to eradicate the lobos nearly succeeded at driving them to extinction. In 1973, the passage of the Endangered Species Act put a stop to the slaughter.6
It was the protection of the Endangered Species Act that allowed the lobo population to grow from a handful of wolves to the approximately 319 that roam the wild today. But those critical protections are now at risk.
The executive order calls for a fundamental shift in wolf conservation policy. It directs the Secretary of the Interior to take the first step toward removing Endangered Species Act protection for gray wolves and lobos -- and even says that the Secretary should "encourage" states to remove local wolf protections, too.7
What it really comes down to is less protection for wolves, opening the door to more wolf killings. Lobo populations are recovering, but far from stable. Expanded hunting and trapping could drive lobos back to the brink of extinction and undo decades of conservation progress.
At Environmental Action, we know we can't afford to turn back the clock on wolf protections. We've seen what happens when unsustainable hunting and trapping is allowed to expand. That's why we're taking action to protect lobos with supporters like you by our side.
Together, we can ensure the Southwest will echo with wild lobos' howls for generations to come.
Thank you for standing with wolves,
The Environmental Action team
1. "SUPPORTING AMERICA'S RANCHERS - Executive Order 14425," The White House, September 4, 2026.
2. "Conserving the Mexican Wolf," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last accessed October 9, 2026.
3. "Canis lupus," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last accessed October 9, 2026.
4. "Conserving the Mexican Wolf," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last accessed October 9, 2026.
5. "Mexican Wolf Population Estimate 1998 - 2025," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, February 27, 2026.
6. "Conserving the Mexican Wolf," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last accessed October 9, 2026.
7. "SUPPORTING AMERICA'S RANCHERS - Executive Order 14425," The White House, September 3, 2026.
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