ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Mexican gray wolf No. 1105 was shot dead by wildlife managers after having a tryst — and puppies — with a common ranch dog. No. 1188, an alpha female, was almost executed, then taken away from her pups and pack, for killing cattle. And wolf No. 1133 was returned to captivity after failing to woo his intended mate.

Fifteen years and more than $25 million after the federal government set about trying to return the endangered species to the American Southwest, the program drastically lags those credited with saving their cousins in the Northern Rockies, bald eagles and even the American crocodile.