Gray wolves (4/12)

Gray wolves, also known as timber wolves, are primarily creatures of the forest. There were large numbers of wolves in Montana historically, however, they were hunted relentlessly in the past and the population fell. Restrictions on hunting were put in place and well-meaning but uninformed officials sought to increase the population by importing timber wolves from Canada. The Canadian wolves were a much larger subspecies, though, and they actually preyed upon the native wolves. Today, the evidence is that there are no longer any native wolves in the state. However, there is a healthy population of the Canadian subspecies and they occasionally seen, especially near Yellowstone National Park.