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.

The extinction of the Mexican gray wolf from the wild was caused by factors such as unregulated hunting for sport and markets, unregulated grazing by domestic ruminants, and legislation passed by congress in 1915 to eradicate large predators from the area (Parsons, 2018).

Many of the prey animals for this species were killed, and wolves were trapped, poisoned, or shot to protect people's livestock. Many wolves were also killed because fables (such as "Little Red Riding Hood") portray wolves as ferocious killers, or cunning tricksters, which does not reflect the true behavior of wolves.

The Mexican gray wolf has been recognized as an endangered species since 1976 and about 300 individuals currently live in captivity between the United States and Mexico. Twenty years after gaining this endangered status, these rare predators were returned to the Southwest through a bi-national reintroduction program.

It has prevented Mexican gray wolves from freely moving back and forth between the US and Mexico populations, further jeopardizing recovery and exacerbating the genetic isolation of the two existing populations.