Jadelynx
By the 1930’s, the grey wolf was virtually extinct in the lower 48 United States due to aggressive hunting, poisoning and trapping by western settlers and farmers. In the early 70’s, ESA protection allowed a small band of wolves in Minnesota to begin rebuilding. The importing of wolves from Canada to Yellowstone also allowed them to repopulate in that region. By 2010 there were 8,000 to 10,000 wolves in the continental United States, allowing them to be removed from the endangered species lists
Unfortunately, through ignorance and lack of knowledge, they sealed the fate of the native wolves in the Rockies, particularly in Montana and Yellowstone National Park. They’re calling it success, but it is the opposite. The wolves they imported from Canada were a subspecies that was larger and more aggressive than the native species, which the larger subspecies immediately began preying upon. In the 1980’s, there were still 40-60 breeding pairs of the native wolf in Yellowstone.
As of last year, there were 250 breeding pairs of the imported Canadian species in Yellowstone, but not a single member of the native species was found. The last confirmed sighting of one of the smaller native subspecies was 2004. None have been sighted anywhere in Montana, either, and none of the wolves taken during regulated hunts have been the native species. It appears that the native species is now extinct, killed by the Canadian wolves.