Yellowstone: White wolf was shot; $5,000 reward offered

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Updated 6:21 pm, Thursday, May 11, 2017


YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park officials say a wolf they euthanized after hikers found the animal suffering from a serious injury had been shot.

Park officials released preliminary necropsy findings Thursday for the wolf that was discovered wounded on April 11 near Gardiner, Montana, in northern Yellowstone.

They are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the shooter's conviction. The alpha female of the Canyon Pack was one of three white wolves in Yellowstone.

She was 12 years old — twice the age of an average Yellowstone wolf — and one of the park's most sought-after wolves for photographs.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Yellowstone-White-wolf-was-shot-5-000-reward-11140264.php

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[center]

One of the Yellowstone white wolves.

[onecaliberal]

1. I hope they catch the fucker

[tenorly]

2. I propose giving the Yellowstone wolves Failin Palin and the Trump boys by way of compensation

And a few boxes of Alka Seltzer. They'll want that.

[2naSalit]

4. They don't eat people, we taste like the vermin of the planet that we are...

And the compensatory individuals would be even more offensive.

This really pisses me off, it's in my back yard so to speak. I have watched and photographed and talked about (for pay) this wolf for years. She was awesome, I've watched her and her mate swim across the river in Hayden Valley and seen her on many occasions with her mate and many of their young. She and her mate brought off eight litters in the breeding years.


I hope they catch the fucker(s) too.

[tenorly]

5. It was meant figuratively. But I'm terribly sorry to hear that.

News of an animal's slaying is always hard to hear; I can hardly imagine when it's one you've actually gotten to know.

[2naSalit]

6. Thanks...

I make a point of not getting too familiarized with them but I was watching, more on the research side of observation, her life as she was not only uniquely colored but also living a rather unusually long life. The wolf recovery was an important issue in my world for years.

So she was shot and didn't die right away, that usually indicates that she was cruelly executed by being "gut shot" -intentionally causing a slow, painful death. It's what the fuckheads who poach wolves do for shitzNgiggles.

I'm pretty fed up with ignorance these days. I've had to deal with it on a regular basis for a long time and now, I have little patience for this crap. Sad part is, it's in Montana, this is a more common problem in Idaho and Wyoming.

I'm sure Dr. Smith is not happy about it... as well as a large community of wildlife respecting people.

[Judi Lynn]

7. So vicious. What a shame it takes so damned long for karma to kick in.

It's good to know she did have wonderful moments with her companion before the monsters came.

You are so kind to share your experiences caring about this incredible wolf. What a vision right in your line of sight.

[2naSalit]

9. Yup.

we've got wolves and most locals are okay with them. The ranchers who aren't doing well often like to blame the wolves for everything, and they did for a good 15 years after the reintroduction... now it's not so much except in small cheato-world circles of festering ignorance.

If only humans could recognize that we need all the other species to survive with us or we won't be surviving either. There's no two ways about it, it's how Mother Nature works.

Yes, she was a pretty white one, she wasn't always so white, they do grey up with age, and she was old... the normal life=span of a wolf in the wild is about six years, to get to ten is amazing, 12... I think only one other wolf in Idaho lasted that long as far as the studied ones go.

I don't mind sharing about this, I used to give a talk on wolves almost every day of the working week for years, my mission was to inform the public about this incredible animal so they won't kill them all again... it's been 22 years since the reintroduction to NYP and central Idaho, they've stabilized in their populations for their areas with the exception of hunting and poaching.

One of the complaints against wolves is that they eat livestock, but they only account for 0.01% of livestock depredations in their areas... and this has been consistent for two decades now. they could almost be compare dto President Obama in how they are stereotyped, misrepresented and maligned just for existing and doing the good that they do by nature.

[qwlauren35]

17. I speak in ignorance.

What is the benefit of wolves? Is it that they keep down the populations of some other animal?

Here in suburban Maryland, there is no doubt that our excessive deer problem is due to the lack of natural predators. By and large, the deer are a nuisance, but they also cause car accidents. I hit a deer once. Luckily I just side-swiped it, but it was a horrifying experience. For a while, I was afraid that I had hit a human. Shook so bad, I pulled over and called the police.

At any rate, please tell us more about the wolves and how they fit into the Circle of Life.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

18. Have you seen this?

https://m.

[2naSalit]

19. Thanks for posting that...

It would be part of my response. Kind of simplistic but then, you could go into complex scientific explanations or simple, it's all the same, they are a keystone species... one whose existence enhances the entire ecosystem and all its inhabitants.

[qwlauren35]

24. Very educational.

I really appreciate that. Thank you.

I really hope the Department of the Interior doesn't mess with this.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Drop them from a helicopter, like the ones Palin uses to shoot wolves.

That would be deeply satisfying for anyone.

[JohnQFunk]

3. No excuse. They should make the reward

for bringing in the shooter $5,000 alive, $10,000 dead.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Absolutely heartbreaking, and evil.

He/she really has it coming.

Welcome to D.U.

[MontanaMama]

11. I am so over the wolf hating

hillbillies here in Montana. It is endless. It is moronic. It is ignorant. Goddamit I hope this criminal is caught. What a beautiful creature. Wolves eat elk, deer and various small game. They don't eat people and they're no threat to us. Too bad really...we need to cull our herd.

[2naSalit]

20. +1

[miyazaki]

12. At the mercy of men who have no mercy.

The human race is an overrated species.

[2naSalit]

22. +1

[Doreen]

13. I hope they get those people and do more than just fine them.

White wolves are not many and wolves mate for life. Most of the time they do not even take another mate after their mate dies. So not only did these assholes kill a rare type of wolf they fucked with the chance of these wolves increasing in number. This angers me as I am a very big wolf fan.

[2naSalit]

23. Well...

She was all done breeding, had 8(!) litters and did quite well and probably would have died by mid winter this year. She wasn't always completely white as that is due to her greying with age. Speaking of age, normally a wolf in the wild's life expectancy is about six years... she was 12. I know because I have been watching this wolf and her pack for over ten years.

That being said, yeah it was a sh*thead thing to do and I'm pissed, and had the wolf been under seven, the rest of you complaint would apply.

[Doreen]

25. That must be awesome to watch her and her pups grow.

12 years is really good for a wolf. Wow, 8 litters. Are any of them turning white?

[2naSalit]

26. I wish I knew what has become of her young...

I think her mother was white but could never confirm that she was from the Hayden pack. Yes, it was quite the privilege to have been able to watch that pack as well as a few others. Even the black wolves, of which there are a large number in the region, get very light with age. I haven't been in the park much since 2015 when it suffered human saturation on steroids... just not worth the aggravation of assholes and idiots on tour with no knowledge or respect for the wild.

[Doreen]

27. I got ( stil am ) very angry when they took wolves off the endangered species list.

People push wildlife out to build and then get pissed when the wildlife does not leave. What the hell do they expect?

[FarPoint]

14. Oh no!!!!

Ghost from Game of Thrones!!!!!

[Bayard]

15. This story made me nauseous

Loved wolves since I was a kid. I think most people are better educated about them now, but many still put them in the same category as any snake--kill on sight. It sounds like this particular shooting was done just to watch the animal suffer for kicks. There is nothing redeemable about such a person.

[Duppers]

16. Well said.

Besides being beautiful and majestic, wolves are the most intelligent of canine species.

It should literally be a crime to kill one.

[peacebuzzard]

21. Devastating. This wolf was murdered in her protected habitat

The low life creep who did this will get a slap on the wrist.
This is incomprehensible.
This has greatly disturbed me.
Adding On edit:
P.S. Sad end for Mothers Day to read this post and thread replies. I will be thinking of this lone wolf mother's painful, tragic and senseless end of life and her now orphaned pack, somewhere out there under the stars. This was a barbaric crime. Goodnight, sweet wolf. I am sorry you had your life ended by a screwed up human in your own home.