About 25 years ago, Mexican gray wolves were reintroduced to the wild in eastern Arizona and New Mexico.

But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently killed a wolf, because the conflict between wolves and livestock producers continues.

A middle-school class named the wolf “Rusty” in a nationwide contest. He was part of the Mangas pack, which had several members with radio collars.

Last summer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began to find dead cattle on a ranch in western New Mexico, in spite of efforts by the rancher to discourage the wolves.

The agency finally gave the order to lethally remove Rusty, leaving behind his mate and several pups.

It says that the pack should have enough adults to assist with raising offspring.

A program in Arizona compensates ranchers to remove dead livestock so the remains are not accessible to Mexican wolves