FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A federally protected female Mexican wolf was found dead in an area near the northern Arizona city of Flagstaff, alarming conservationists who worry someone may have deliberately killed the animal.

The animal, known to biologists as Mexican wolf F2979, was found dead on Nov. 7, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department announced in a joint statement Friday. The animal was located outside designated boundaries along the Arizona-New Mexico border. To manage the rarest gray wolf subspecies in North America.

Authorities did not disclose the cause of death, except to say it was “unrelated to the actions of agency management.” Up to $103,500 in reward money from state and federal agencies, as well as nonprofit organizations and private individuals, has been pledged for information “leading to successful prosecution of the case,” it said.

Cyndi Tuell, director of the Western Watersheds Project in Arizona and New Mexico, said in a statement that if someone intentionally kills a wolf, “the full weight of federal and state law should be brought to bear” against the person responsible.

Mexican gray wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Killing a Mexican wolf can result in criminal penalties of up to $50,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year, forfeiture of firearms, vehicles, and buildings involved in the crime, as well as potential civil penalties of up to $25,000.

The female wolf was first documented in early summer 2024 outside the government-designated “Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area” located north of Interstate 40 near Flagstaff, state and federal agencies said in a joint statement.

The animal was captured, fitted with a GPS collar and released back into the wild in July. DNA analysis revealed that the female left her pack, known as the Tu Dil Hil pack, in the designated population area and traveled alone with another wolf.

Efforts are continuing to capture the couple and bring them to the region. The whereabouts of the other wolf are unknown.

Federal regulations require the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove all Mexican wolves roaming north of Interstate 40, even when the animal does not cause any distress or loss. Farmers in New Mexico and Arizona, who have long complained that wolves are responsible for the deaths of dozens of animals each year, are concerned about the expansion of the animals’ habitat.

Mexican gray wolves were first reintroduced to the Southwest United States a quarter-century ago. After a slow start, their numbers have increased in recent years to more than 250 in Arizona and New Mexico.