Beloved Yellowstone wolf killed by trophy hunter

Spitfire (Getty Images photo by Mark Perry)

"A wild wolf beloved by wolf watchers and biologists who visit Yellowstone National Park has been shot dead by a hunter," just as her equally famous mother was, Hayley Miller reports for Huffington Post.

Nicknamed Spitfire, the 7-year-old female wolf wandered about five miles outside Yellowstone Park's northeast entrance last weekend and was legally killed by a trophy hunter. She was the daughter of "famous alpha female 832F, who inspired the book American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West," Miller reports.

The death has revived calls for a hunting-free buffer zone around Yellowstone to protect animals who wander beyond the boundary (which has no fence or other physical barriers to keep in animals). In a recent blog post, the New York-based Wolf Conservation Center observed that Yellowstone's wolves bring in about $35 million in annual tourist revenue. Since Montana wolf hunting licenses are $19-$50, it "seems that Yellowstone wolves are worth a lot more alive than dead."