Two federally protected wolves are dead. The circumstances are different. The question they raise is the same: what does “protected” mean if killing an endangered wolf carries little meaningful consequence?

In New Mexico, endangered Mexican gray wolf **AM2765 (breeding male of the Frieborn Pack and a father raising pups) was caught in a coyote trap unlawfully set on public land. During an attempt to release him, he was restrained in a sleeping bag. A necropsy determined that AM2765 died from asphyxiation after vomit obstructed his airway while he was restrained. Despite wildlife officials seeking prosecution, no criminal charges were ultimately brought.

In Colorado, federally protected gray wolf 2504 was shot by a licensed hunter who reported believing she was a coyote. The hunter immediately reported the incident and cooperated with investigators, circumstances that deserve to be acknowledged. But the case nevertheless ended with a citation and no further charges.

These cases are not identical, and accountability does not mean vengeance.

It means endangered-species protections must have real weight.

We cannot recover wolves while allowing preventable killings of protected animals to repeatedly end without consequences sufficient to deter the next one.

We are asking the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to examine how these cases are handled, consistently enforce federal protections, strengthen prevention and enforcement where gaps exist, and ensure that the death of an endangered animal is never treated as simply the cost of doing business.

Tell the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: endangered must mean protected.

The factual basis for the AM2765 paragraph comes from the recently released account of the case, including the unlawful public-land trap, sleeping-bag restraint, necropsy finding and decision not to prosecute. The Colorado language deliberately acknowledges the hunter’s prompt reporting and cooperation because CPW specifically documented both.