Its ancestors were likely among the first gray wolves to enter North America after the extinction of the Beringian wolf, as indicated by its southern range and basal physical and genetic characteristics.

[3] Though once held in high regard in Pre-Columbian Mexico,[4] Canis lupus baileyi became the most endangered gray wolf subspecies in North America, having been extirpated in the wild during the mid-1900s through a combination of hunting, trapping, poisoning and the removal of pups from dens, mainly out of fear, by livestock herders and ranch owners.

After being listed officially under the Endangered Species Act in 1976, both the United States and Mexico collaborated to capture all lobos remaining in the wild.

This extreme preventative measure would end up forestalling their imminent extinction; five wild Mexican wolves (four males and one pregnant female) were captured, alive, in Mexico between 1977 and 1980.

Thanks to these preemptive measures, captive-bred Mexican wolves were released into recovery areas in Arizona and New Mexico beginning in 1998 in an effort to recolonize the animals' historical range.

[10] It is similar to the Great Plains wolf (C. l. nubilus), albeit distinguishable by a smaller, narrower skull and darker, more variable pelage.

[14] Gray wolves (Canis lupus) migrated from Eurasia into North America 70,000–23,000 years ago[15][16] and gave rise to at least two morphologically and genetically distinct groups.

Modern wolves in the Midwestern US and northwestern North America possess longer legs that evolved during the Holocene, possibly driven by the loss of slower prey.

[24] Multiple recent studies using morphological (skull measurements) and genetic datasets have concluded that Mexican wolves hybridized in clinal fashion with other wolf subspecies where both met.

[26] In tests performed on a sample from a taxidermied carcass of what was initially labelled as a chupacabra, mitochondrial DNA analysis conducted by Texas State University professor Michael Forstner showed that it was a coyote.

[29] Another study in the same year was published in the PLOS Genetics Journal which analyzed the population genomics of gray wolves and coyotes from all over North America.

The areas described coincide with the distribution of the Madrean pine-oak woodlands, a habitat which supports Coues’ white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus couesi) that were historically the Mexican wolf's main prey.

[31] Today, following their reintroduction and conservation, Mexican wolves are widely distributed across over 40,000 km2 (9.88 million acres) of western New Mexico and eastern Arizona, largely coinciding with the Apache-Sitgreaves and Gila National Forests and the surrounding areas.

In the city of Teotihuacan, it was common practice to crossbreed Mexican wolves with dogs to produce temperamental, but loyal, animal guardians.

The remaining body parts were deposited in underground funerary chambers with a westerly orientation, which symbolized rebirth, the Sun, the underworld and the canid god Xolotl.

[4] The earliest written record of the Mexican wolf comes from Francisco Javier Clavijero's Historia de México in 1780, where it is referred to as Cuetzlachcojotl, and is described as being of the same species as the coyote, but with a more wolf-like pelt and a thicker neck.

[42] Vernon Bailey, writing in the early 1930s, noted that the highest Mexican wolf densities occurred in the open grazing areas of the Gila National Forest, and that wolves were completely absent in the lower Sonora.

[42] The Mexican wolf persisted longer in Mexico, as human settlement, ranching and predator removal came later than in the Southwestern United States.

Endangered Species Act in 1976, with the Mexican Wolf Recovery Team being formed three years later by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

The lack of livestock-free zones and tolerance for these captive wolves outside of their restoration area can be challenging for Mexican wolf conservation.

[52][53] In July 2017, approximately 31 wild Mexican gray wolves inhabited Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico, in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental.

[7] The IFT has a partnership with Mexico's National Commission for Natural Protected Areas and Directorate General for Wildlife to continue binational collaboration for Mexican wolf recovery.

Livestock producers are given financial compensation when their animals are killed by wolves, and are paid to remove cattle carcasses in order to discourage wolf scavenging.

In Mexico, white-tailed deer make up approximately 36% of their diet, while domestic cattle comprise about 25% and diversionary food caches from wildlife managers provide an additional 22%.

), squirrels (Otospermophilus variegatus), and other small mammals and birds, with very occasional collared peccaries and domestic horses (Equus caballus).

Birds vary from raptors like Mexican spotted owls, Apache northern goshawks, and bald eagles; to waterfowl such as American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus), and pied-bill grebes (Podilymbus podiceps); to songbirds like the pygmy nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea).

[32][107] Local reptiles and amphibians include bullsnakes, black-tailed rattlesnakes, crevice spiny lizards, and New Mexico spadefoot toads.

The story, largely based on Seton's real-life experience, features Lobo and his mate, Blanca, the alpha pair of their pack, who predate upon the vast herds of livestock on the Currumpaw ranch in New Mexico.

[113] Decades later, conservationist Aldo Leopold had a similar life changing encounter when he killed a Mexican wolf in the Gila Wilderness in 1909.

[114][115][116][117] In 2023 the Mexican wolf was featured on a United States Postal Service Forever stamp as part of the Endangered Species set, based on a photograph from Joel Sartore's Photo Ark.