This female white wolf was put down in Yellowstone National Park this week after being found in shock with unspecified injuries/NPS file photo by Neal Herbert
A well-known and often-photographed white female wolf that was 12 years old was put down this week in Yellowstone National Park after being discovered in shock and dying from unspecified injuries.
Park officials issued a release Friday to say the wolf had been found Tuesday inside the northern end of the park near Gardiner, Montana, by hikers.
“Staff on scene agreed the animal could not be saved due to the severity of its injuries. The decision was made to kill the animal and investigate the cause of the initial trauma,” said P.J. White, chief of the park's Wildlife and Aquatic Resources Branch.
The release did not describe the injuries, other than to say "the nature of the initial injuries" was unknown. It also was unclear on the reference to "initial" injuries.
Park staff identified the wolf, one of three known white wolves in the park, as a female of the Canyon Pack. This wolf lived to 12 years, twice the age of an average wolf in the park, and had a broad range that extended from Hayden Valley to the Firehole River area to the northern portion of Yellowstone, the release said.
The wolf was one of the most recognizable and sought after by visitors to view and photograph, it added.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to call the Yellowstone National Park Tip Line at 307-344-2132 or email [email protected]. For more information, visit http://go.nps.gov/tipline.
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Comments
Horrific. On the one hand I am glad she had such a long life. On the other hand whoever did this to this magnificent beast should consider self immolation
Whoever did what? Do you have information not contained in this article?
Back off Eric. I am laying in the same hospital room I've b een in all week and have had no contact with anyone from Yellowstone. I simply commented based on the impression I got from the article.
In other words, you made a conclusion that suited your biases without the facts. Not surprising. I hope you get well soon.
In defense of Rick B, I think it would be easy to make such an assumption because of the last paragraph regarding "Anyone with information about this incident". After reading the article, the release itself sounds a bit secretive. One would think that if the wolf had been injured by natural causes, it would have been mentioned. Was the wolf hurt, perhaps, in an illegal trap? Wounded by a bullet? Injured by a fall down a cliff? Hurt by some other species like a bear? The park release doesn't give much to go on and as such, may cause lots of assumptions. And I hope you get better too, Rick B.
Thanks Rebecca. It wasnt what I said, it is that he is the hallway bully of the school who has made it his mission to argue anything I say. It is a general statement and of course there have been exceptions, but a forensic accounting study would make the case. I appreciate your sincere best wishes.
May well have been stuck by a vehicle and ran off...