WYOMING – A notorious Yellowstone wolf was killed recently as a result of a legal hunt outside the park boundaries in Montana.
The loss of wolf 926F is being mourned by many in the wolf-watching community as an animal with one of the richest of bloodlines. The 7-year-old female wolf was a member of the famed Lamar Canyon Pack, and could trace her lineage back five generations to the original release of wolves in Yellowstone in 1995. Her great, great grandparents alphas 9F and 10M, were among the eight gray wolves reintroduced that January.
Wolf 926F was born in April 2011 to parents known as 06 and 755. Her mother (06) was also harvested by a hunter in 2012. 926F (named “Spitfire” by some) had become a visitor’s favorite, fearlessly approaching photographers on many occasions.
Park officials confirmed the killing, adding that it was done completely legally about five miles outside the northeast entrance to the park. Advocacy groups like Wolves of the Rockies are calling the loss “heartbreaking.”
926F was a smallish female wolf, weight well under 90 pounds. Her grizzled black coat made her easily recognizable even after she lost the collar identifying her as ‘926F.’
Yellowstone Wolf: Project Citizen Science lists 926F as one of the most photographed wolves of Yellowstone with some 97 shots of the wolf through the years.
