Was Yellowstone's Deadliest Wolf Hunt An Inside Job?

[Pantheraman]

"For years, Montana had imposed strict quotas limiting the number of wolves hunters could kill in the two districts north of Yellowstone. Last year, those restrictions were lifted. Hunters gathered along the park’s border in anticipation.

The first killings were reported less than a week after the season opened: two 8-month-old pups and a yearling. They were members of the Junction Butte pack, the most famous wolves on Earth. Living embodiments of one of the most celebrated conservation comeback stories of all time, their very existence helped make 2021 Yellowstone’s busiest year on record."

"Roughly a fifth of Yellowstone’s wolf population was gone, with one pack seemingly eliminated entirely. It was a death toll unlike anything Smith and his colleagues had seen since wolves were reintroduced to the Northern Rockies in the 1990s. “The level of mortality is historic and catastrophic,” he said. “And I’m worried about next winter, because the thing is, compromise and reasonability seems to be gone.”

"1233 was the last of the park’s wolves to die during the winter hunt, and his killing stood out from the others. Given the timing and proximity to Yellowstone’s border, the Park Service opened an investigation into the incident. Still emitting signals after his death, 1233’s collar pointed to the property of a local hunting guide. Like others in the area, the guide linked wolf hunting to a broader political project aimed at resurrecting the glory days of the American West. But as the investigation soon uncovered, the outfitter was the mere recipient of 1233’s collar. The man who pulled the trigger, ending the deadliest year for Yellowstone’s wolves in living memory, was one of the park’s own backcountry law enforcement rangers."

Was Yellowstone’s Deadliest Wolf Hunt in 100 Years an Inside Job?

 

[Lafone]

"For years, Montana had imposed strict quotas limiting the number of wolves hunters could kill in the two districts north of Yellowstone. Last year, those restrictions were lifted. Hunters gathered along the park’s border in anticipation.

The first killings were reported less than a week after the season opened: two 8-month-old pups and a yearling. They were members of the Junction Butte pack, the most famous wolves on Earth. Living embodiments of one of the most celebrated conservation comeback stories of all time, their very existence helped make 2021 Yellowstone’s busiest year on record."

"Roughly a fifth of Yellowstone’s wolf population was gone, with one pack seemingly eliminated entirely. It was a death toll unlike anything Smith and his colleagues had seen since wolves were reintroduced to the Northern Rockies in the 1990s. “The level of mortality is historic and catastrophic,” he said. “And I’m worried about next winter, because the thing is, compromise and reasonability seems to be gone.”

"1233 was the last of the park’s wolves to die during the winter hunt, and his killing stood out from the others. Given the timing and proximity to Yellowstone’s border, the Park Service opened an investigation into the incident. Still emitting signals after his death, 1233’s collar pointed to the property of a local hunting guide. Like others in the area, the guide linked wolf hunting to a broader political project aimed at resurrecting the glory days of the American West. But as the investigation soon uncovered, the outfitter was the mere recipient of 1233’s collar. The man who pulled the trigger, ending the deadliest year for Yellowstone’s wolves in living memory, was one of the park’s own backcountry law enforcement rangers."

Was Yellowstone’s Deadliest Wolf Hunt in 100 Years an Inside Job?

That’s terrible.

The shooting of these animals for sport is horrible.

Hunting for food or as part of a core subsistence economy or indeed to control a population to ensure inbreeding etc doesn’t destroy a population I can get.

However killing animals which have been carefully introduced, nurtured and supported for fun just seems like a massive mistake.

The fact that the rangers did it is almost worse - they’d know where to find the packs to the extent it’s little more than blasting off at a drugged animal in a breed to kill reserve.

This sort of thing sums up why we have animals under threat - some people honestly believe anything on earth simply exists for them to kill for their personal pleasure.

I’ve been lucky enough to see wolves in the wild. I can never work out why people are selfish enough to want to kill them and stop other people having the chance to see them too.

Perhaps people who campaign for zoos to close would find their time better spent campaigning for people not to be able to shoot animals like this for fun in the wild.