Wolf numbers continue to grow

Billings Gazette Tuesday, March 20, 2007
BILLINGS, Mont. -- There are now at least 1,300 wolves prowling Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, far more than anyone imagined when the species was reintroduced in the Northern Rockies 12 years ago.

The wolf population has, on average, grown by about 26 percent a year for the past decade. The latest estimates, which summarize counts completed at the end of 2006, show they aren't slowing down.

"I keep thinking we're at the top end of the bubble," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I can't see that there's room for any more, but we'll see."

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Maybe by 2008 we will be able to apply for tags for this animal in all three of these states. Idaho is going to offer the biggest opportunity and this is not going to be an easy animal to hunt, regardless of what anyone thinks. Wolves are very intelligent and will prove to be one of the hardest animals in North America to kill once they begin getting hunted.