Wolves are one of my three favorite animals

Along with dolphins and cats, not necessarily in that order. One of the aspirations of my life is to travel to Yellowstone so I can see some wolves "in-person."

So, you might think I'd be pleased to read that:

Thriving Canadian wolves in Rocky Mountain states no longer endangered species

A pioneering pack of Canadian wolves sent to the United States to re-establish populations in the northern Rocky Mountains has done so well the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has ruled they're no longer an endangered species.

And indeed, I was pleased to read that headline and opening paragraph. But as ever, you have to read the fine print:

In fact, there are so many wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming that the states are likely to set up hunting seasons for them again.

And also to contrast what the Bush administration says--"Wolves are no longer endangered! Hurray! So...we can shoot them now! It's the ciiiiiircle of life."--with what the Center for Biological Diversity says:

Although there are more than 1,500 wolves in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, only a fraction of those animals reproduce, since within each wolf pack only the alpha male and alpha female breed. Thus the genetically effective population is much lower than the total number of wolves. Furthermore, Wyoming and Idaho intend to kill approximately half their wolf populations, to reduce them to 15 breeding pairs in each state.

Wolves in Yellowstone are completely isolated; since reintroduction in 1995 there have been no wolves documented to have traveled from elsewhere into the Yellowstone ecosystem and successfully bred. Recent peer-reviewed research predicts genetic “inbreeding depression” and resulting lower litter sizes in wolf packs in Yellowstone within a few decades.