Since gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s, they have been very successful - perhaps too successful. Fattened on elk, the wolves multiplied and ranged beyond the park boundaries, where they are less welcome. Today about 80 wolves in 10 packs live primarily within the park, while 400 others roam in surrounding portions of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming - states that permit wolf hunting. If a wolf leaves the safety of Yellowstone and is shot by a hunter, it's perfectly legal. More troubling is the illegal, undocumented take by poachers. National Park Service biologist Doug Smith estimates that poachers kill up to 10 percent of the population in the greater Yellowstone area each year.
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