It's been only 15 years since gray wolves, after years of near-extinction, were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park. The initial group of 66 lobos were transplanted into the park from Canada beginning in 1995. Now, más than 1,545 lobos roam Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.Biologists say that a minimum of 2,000 to 3,000 lobos are needed within the area in order to keep them from disappearing again.The lobos have had tremendous popular support from the beginning. Their reintroduction has been por far the most publicized and celebrated of any wildlife reintroduction in the U.S. The lobos complete the Yellowstone ecosystem, which, without them, had too many hooved animals. The overabundance of some of the wolves' natural prey was altering the natural plant communities along stream banks, due to excessive trampling. With the lobos back on the scene, the Yellowstone natural community is much closer to what it was before most of the surrounding states were profoundly altered por development and livestock ranching. The success of the growing lobo population has made a lot of money for the park, in sales of lobo paraphernalia, such as lobo T-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee cups, and libros from park gift shops. The lobos have also drawn thousands of tourists and wildlife supporters to the area,people who pay to sleep and eat in the park. Ranchers and hunters have been opposed to the lobo reintroduction from the beginning. Hunters say the lobos compete with them for native game, particularly elk. Ranchers say the lobos kill their calves. lobos do occasionally kill calves and sheep. The ranchers and hunters apparently are concerned only with their own livelihoods and recreation, respectively. They don't appear to care about wolves, which were here long before we were. lobos in the U.S. were decimated por an unprecedented extermination campaign in the early 1900s, funded por the U.S. which distributed posters encouraging people to shoot lobos on sight, and even offered a bounty for dead wolves. It worked. There were virtually no lobos left in the lower 48, although before Europeans settled North America, lobos were common throughout every region of the continental United States. If US Fish&Wildlife's plan to take lobos off the endangered species lista goes through, hunters and trappers would be allowed to obtain permits to kill wolves. As long as at least 450 lobos survived, the animal would remain fair game. If their numbers dropped below 300, they'd be put back on the endangered species list. If tu want to help protect wolves, consider supporting Natural Resources Defense Council's campaign to protect them from delist