Endangered species
I'm sad to my core every time I read about another wolf being cruelly gunned down or tortured to death in a trap by ignorant, cruel humans. It is especially sad that the eighth collared Yellowstone wolf, an alpha female, was killed in Wyoming just outside the safety of the park [“‘Famous’ wolf killed outside Yellowstone,” News, Dec. 9].

This is a repeat of the 1930s when almost every single last wolf was killed in the Lower 48 states. Unfortunately for the wolves, human greed and ignorance have erased all of the education and recovery efforts that brought wolves back to Yellowstone and beyond in the 1980s.

Under Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who just happens to be an ex-rancher, the wolves were taken off the endangered species list even though their numbers were still very low. So once again, the ranchers and hunters are killing wolves with glee and due to their hatred for these wonderful animals, there will be so few left alive that they will again be virtually extinct.

There are humane and effective methods ranchers can use to live with wolves and it's preposterous to think that a few wolves could kill so many elk that there wouldn’t be any left for hunters.

—Gayle Janzen, Seattle