Return of the Wolves
Photo: UK Wolf Conservation Trust
BY SIERRA
Exterminated as vermin, gray wolves (Canis lupus) vanished from Mexico to the Arctic by the 1930s. The loss of habitat also caused lower numbers of wolves.
The wolves were listed as an endangered species in 1973.
In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service airlifted 66 wolves from Canada in an experiment to repopulate Yellowstone National Park and Idaho’s wilderness areas. It caused some controversy.
A few wolves have crossed the border into Montana by themselves and formed packs.
In February 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the gray wolf was “thriving” in the northern Rockies. The organization removed the northern Rockies gray wolf from the endangered list on May 4, 2009.
The Interior Department reports that there are about 1,500 wolves now roaming in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.