BILLINGS — Wolf hunting outside Glacier National Park has been shut down by Montana wildlife officials after a single wolf was killed this week to fulfill a local quota on the predators.
The animal was taken by an archery hunter west of Glacier, one of two areas where there’s a specified harvest limit this hunting season. The other is north of Yellowstone National Park.
There are no quotas for the rest of Montana as officials seek to drive down the predator’s population.
It’s the state’s second consecutive wolf season and third in modern times following their recovery from widespread extermination last century. Montana had at least 653 wolves at the end of last year.
Government workers and ranchers in Montana have killed at least 74 wolves this year following livestock attacks.