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September 7, 2008 5:54:04 AM CDT

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Protections End for Gray Wolf

Posted Feb 22, 08 5:06 AM CST in US,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – The gray wolf has been taken off the endangered species list in a multi-state area of the northern Rocky Mountains, National Geographic reports. "The wolves are back," said an official of the Department of the Interior. Just 66 of the animals were reintroduced to the region in 1996 and there are over 1,500 today. Environmental groups say it's too soon to take away the wolves' protection and believe many will soon be killed by hunters.

The zone affected covers Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and parts of neighboring states, where wolves had been almost completely wiped out before the reintroduction program began. Any wolf beyond the zone will retain its protected status. The return of the predators has been hailed as a conservation success story, despite the wolves' unpopularity with ranchers, and a wildlife group is now arguing that the animals should be brought back to other parts of the US.

Sources National Geographic, Associated Press

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    Hunters Take Aim at Gray Wolf Hunters in the northern Rockies will soon take aim at a rare target—the gray wolf. The animal lost its protected species status in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming yesterday, and wildlife agencies in the region are looking to reduce the population by granting hunting licenses for the first time since 1973. An estimated 1,500 gray wolves now roam the region. More »

The gray wolf (canis lupus). The wolves have greatly increased in number since being reintroduced to the northern Rocky mountains and they are now being taken off the endangered species list.   ((c) dobak)
This handout file photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a 130-pound gray wolf as it watches biologists in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., after being captured and fitted with a radio...   (Associated Press)
This photo provided by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks shows a gray wolf pup from the Calder Mountain pack along the Montana and Idaho borders west of Troy, Mont. in this August 2005,...   (Associated Press)
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Tags

endangered species  • conservation  • Idaho  • wildlife  • Montana  • Endangered Species Act  • Wyoming  • Rocky Mountains  • gray wolf


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