Trophy hunter lured famous Yellowstone wolf and shot her dead

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Just outside of Yellowstone, the Lamar Canyon wolf alpha female named “Spitfire” was shot dead by a trophy hunter last weekend outside of the park in Helena, Montana

Though it was a legal shooting because Spitfire can’t read and somehow had wandered out of the park while a hunter had her in his sight, the killing now presents a warning to what could happen to the endangered gray wolves across the nation if the Trump administration proceeds with their plans to strip the gray wolves of their Endangered Species Act Protection.

According to the 06Legacy, the report on November 28 detailed the tragic death of Spitfire (“926′)

“It’s so difficult to write this. We are passing along the devastating news that our beloved 926F of the Lamar Canyon Pack was killed in the Montana trophy hunt. She was the daughter of our namesake 06 and she was known as the Queen of the Lamar Valley. She was seven years old and led her pack through a number of very difficult circumstances. 926F showed incredible strength, courage and resilience in everything she did. She had a special bond with her daughter Little T and they stayed together all these years.

We had so much to celebrate when we saw five strong and healthy pups this fall. And now it took just one bullet and 926F is gone. Just like her mother 06 and her uncle 754M before her. With current wolf management practices, the tragedy just doesn’t end.

The 06 Legacy is committed to protecting wolves and we are going to fight even harder for 06, 926F, 754M and all the other wolves whose lives are taken for granted and are killed for nothing more than sport,” the organization wrote on their Facebook page; a group dedicated to following the wolves and protecting their existence.

The New York Times reported Spitfire was killed less than five miles from the northeast entrance of Yellowstone which has again  reignited calls for a buffer zone around the hunting free zone of Yellowstone to protect the animals when they wander out so close from their safe areas.

“Perhaps Montana should take a closer look at the economics of wolf hunting,” the New York-based Wolf Conservation Center wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “Seems that Yellowstone wolves are worth a lot more alive than dead.”

Wolves were reintroduced to the park during the 1990s; statistics show ten packs in Yellowstone with 100 wolves in all. In the Northern Rocky Mountain states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, there are currently 1,700 wolves. A highlight of traveling and sightseeing in the area are the wolves; most of these animals are so used to seeing humans they are not afraid as hunters stand around and wait for one of them to step over the imaginary protection line of the park. The wolves are becoming harder to spot – hunters shooting them for sport diminishes the chances of observing the magnificent animals during guided tours.

Experts fear Spitfire’s death could endanger the pack’s survival which includes her daughter, nicknamed Little T and another wolf called Small Dot. For the first time in three years a litter of five pups were born to the Lamar Canyon pack.

“Wolf hunters talk about seeing a pack of wolves outside the boundary and being able to pick the one they want,” stated Doug Smith, the park’s wolf biologist. “They just stand there and have no fear.”

And there we have trophy hunting!

https://www.facebook.com/The06Legacy/videos/2303027269965275/UzpfSTU4Nzg3NTk1MTIzNzYyMzoyNTcwMjcyMDAyOTk3OTk4/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARA8sWIuKQDLUq4msNcmcqaWa8Z8r40KdX_XaMve3HTgjQBiHAX-C5JvoOuSAodcMhIv8cDboRrdGawc&hc_ref=ARSXD269YG0skD9i3cKdrOvGxCwidU671CswoD1H9_Fq-mRLP0mGTU7xDj45j-cRgoE&__xts__[0]=68.ARCRY4jG-iMAPnxLdpdWTYa4ycgsTHBqse8ZcjSSWWS5Z5c7vRErYXFxBo0RMUnoNZ-6fUXufRCZsildpq1ylx530xXerSi9Ggo9iNv_ie40pG70sOTGfgwNZmgAQKrbzm7r9STzbPUNFaX0A5fTFd8Rvbgw8qk-ioqaxJTibAGTbnuGqga_cq9B3PYpY71K4tcwK2L5hDqUxbKpyelZR16GWOjkSZunMknOhy8nWaUTugdFYVjykhKcSLSOwWogj2n_DO4xztE_cvWwPOlPiZ41Fc5TDzrbD2-4NPNJ1GJqieMsB-5Fq3sQvmMA5vHDDsTkmvEb5OjKLFiFOLl9SpFdpnZvw3f1r7TkkcYKkiW2McPiePnQhzzeuLY53eiVakhzTtw9BWyGqqYuBPfMSlIhdItB1ZubmEf_5F0-QytZckmi_nAKYLIZS8oeXE9ffVqAtJoJW72mV7n55xx1idUlAygqBjviXnPtwmP5r0sXroJlyksLGmVlUhQo1ab_ZS4WSOeUK74Y6CCJtnlwOCm6Jaqte0LWTPCI

Follow the National Pet Rescue on Facebook to read the latest animal related news.

More: Dogs stayed with owner after he died – now they are at the shelter.

Yesterday: Dog shakes in fear after being surrendered – more here.



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16 COMMENTS

  1. Who cares animals do not have rights. Humans have rights wolves are devastating animals. They are destructive. Good hunting my friend may God preserve you.

  2. These “trophy hunters” are the lowest form of scum on the face of the earth. Cecil, Spitfire and all of the other well-known animals are treasures whose value is beyond measure. They are killed just so some low-life can feel like a big man/woman. Some one ought to take them out for the good of everyone else. Die scumbag, die.

  3. I think it is past time for a buffer zone around Yellowstone. These protected animals need to be safe. The people shooting them are not hunters, they are stone cold killers, murdering the wildlife all americans deserve to be able to view in the wild!

  4. If those trophy hunters were being held accountable and prosecuted for there inhumane actions then maybe we could save these beautiful creatures instead of them being shot on sight just for being there its a tragedy and totally uncalled for they need to hold the killers accountable for there actions. These creatures should be protected not killed off like this. This makes me so sick to see this kind of killing of innocent animals.

  5. This is truly heartbreaking and MUST stop. Buffer zones must be put in place and the protection of the Endangered Species Act must not be stripped away. What kind of a world are we leaving for our children?

  6. I think all animals should be trophy hunted at any time that a human wants to hunt them with the same equipment that the animal has to protect itself with witch is guile, tooth & claw, nothing more! Maybe he wouldn’t be so phony in his pride if he didn’t lie off at 300 yards & end something elses life with the squeeze of the trigger of a 300Win Mag just to hang on his wall or lie on his floor to be walked on.

  7. Umm, the park is not outside of Helena, Montana. The town of Silver Gate Montana is outside of the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone And “somehow wandered outside of the park” makes it sound like they don’t do that every day and his is a park that spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles – usually there isn’t someone just waiting for an animal to cross the boundary to shoot it. While the shooter was probably very aware that this 926 did go outside of the park and there are many people that would love to hunt and kill a wolf, it wasn’t lured (That we know of at this time),

  8. Names of the murdering trophy hunters should be published. The wolves belong to ALL of us, not just the reptilian-brained, entitled subhumans. We need to get people in office who protect this land, its inhabitants and interests, not the cold-hearted profiteers and murderers.

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