#Wolves March 26

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Wyoming is in a centuries old battle with WOLVES. They no longer are on the state’s “Endangered Species List“.

In 2017 the state removed the grey WOLF from its list, and it only has protection inside the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Some estimates have the 2022 population inside of Yellowstone at under 100. In January of 2022 the NY Post had an article on the number of animals that had been killed in Montana. There is speculation that those animals crossed over Yellowstone’s border out of its no hunting zone.

History

Yellowstone opened in 1872 and there were no hunting regulations. In the early years of the park, administrators, hunters and tourists were essentially free to kill any game or predator they came across. The gray wolf was especially vulnerable to this wanton killing. In 1883 restrictions were put in place but did not apply to the wolf or mountain lion.

Estimates claim that the last wolf was killed inside the park in 1926 until they were reintroduced in 1995 in the Lamar Valley. Some scientists have claimed that the reintroduction has saved a lot of Yellowstone. Wolves balance out the ecosystem.

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