A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of a rifle-toting gunman who shot a rare white wolf in Yellowstone National Park only to abandon her suffering in the woods with a devastating wound.
Hikers found the mortally wounded alpha female April 11 near the northern boundary of the park near Gardiner, Montana. They called for help, but she was so severely injured that she had to be euthanized.
A necropsy determined that 12-year-old wolf — twice as old as the average wolf in the park — had been shot, and the results were released Thursday.
“The death of this wolf is another tragic loss in the trend of illegally poaching iconic species,” said Jaimie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife.
“Yellowstone National Park’s wolves are unequivocally prized. These wolves are valued globally, and local communities reliant on tourism benefit significantly from their presence. Returning wolves to their natural habitat has a beneficial effect on the entire ecosystem.”
The wolf was one of three white wolves in the park . She was the alpha female of the Canyon Pack for more than nine years with the same alpha male, and had at least 20 pups. She was one of the most recognizablewolves in the park and a prize to spot by park visitors.
Yellowstone offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer or killers, and the reward was doubled by the wildlife advocacy group the Wolves of the Rockies in Montana. Some believe the wolf was shot by someone angry about re-introduction of the animals into the park 20 years ago — otherwise they would have likely taken the “trophy.”
“People take matters into their own hands and feel they are above the law and they kind of flaunt that fact that they can do what they want to do and there’s no repercussions,” Wolves of the Rockies President Marc Cook told The Associated Press. There are now close to 100 wolves in the park, despite the complaints of many ranchers and hunters.
It’s illegal to shoot animals in the park — or to discharge a firearm.
Any tips called into the Yellowstone phone line at 888-653-0009 can be confidential. “You don’t have to tell them who you are, but please tell them what you know,” said the Yellowstone statement. Information can also be emailed to nps_isb@nps.gov or submitted online at www.nps.gov/isb.
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