The wolf was regarded as a lupine “rock star” by those researching Yellowstone's wildlife

Dec 10, 2012 09:44 GMT  ·  By
Yellowstone's favorite wolf was killed by hunters outside the Park's boundaries
   Yellowstone's favorite wolf was killed by hunters outside the Park's boundaries

Both visitors to the Yellowstone National Park and researchers whose main focus is on studying the biodiversity found in this animal sanctuary must now figure out a way to come to terms with the fact that the Park's favorite alpha female wolf was shot and killed by hunters.

Granted, the wolf was killed outside the park's boundaries, but that does not change the fact that there are many who now wish to express their discontent with respect to the state-sanctioned wolf hunts organized in Wyoming and other American states.

This alpha female spent most of her time in the Park's Lamar Canyon, yet the GPS collar it was fitted with indicated that, on occasion, it ventured outside said animal sanctuary.

Although it did not spend significant amounts of time outside the Park, its last stroll proved fatal.

Jezebel explains that the female’s official name was 832F, but that both visitors to the Park and researchers agree that it was so popular, that it would have been more accurate to refer to it as a local lupine “rock star.”

The people who authorized this hunting and those taking part in it claim that there simply is no other way to make sure such predators are kept at bay and not allowed to feed on livestock.

Still, several conservationists have drawn attention to the fact that the wolf population in this part of the US is not large enough to allow for hunting, despite the fact that grey wolves in the US are no longer listed as an endangered species.

Moreover, whatever profits are made by keeping livestock safe and sound are not enough to compensate for the fact that, as a result of a dwindling wolf population, the area fails to attract as many tourists as it used to in the past.

As well as this, conservationists argue that the hunters have no issues when it comes to gunning down wolves that are fitted with GPS collars.

More often than not, this impacts on their attempts to monitor the ways in which wolves move about these lands.

For the time being, environmentalists are trying to pressure state officials into establishing a so-called buffer zone around the Yellowstone National Park, hoping that this will help protect local wildlife.