In the Southwest, the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi​, often called the Mexican wolf) is a small, rare, genetically distinct subspecies from the Northern gray wolf.  Mexican gray wolves were largely eliminated by the 1970s due to widespread eradication efforts in the United States and Mexico.  The recovery strategy for the region aims to use a captive breeding program to increase the population of wolves and reintroduce captive wolves into eastern Arizona and western New Mexico.