Gardiner rancher shoots collared Yellowstone wolf after sheep slaughter

About 10 days ago, Gardiner rancher Bill Hoppe made a gruesome discovery - 18 of his sheep were slaughtered. He took pictures of the carnage. Federal investigators determined two wolves were responsible. Then, on Monday, he shot and killed a wolf he believes killed the sheep. "I've been going down and checking, saw two and the other one made it off the property before I could shoot it," Hoppe said. The wolf was collared. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, it was from the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park. According to FWP, Hoppe didn't break any laws, because he was issued a kill-on-site permit to kill two wolves after the loss of his sheep. Hoppe said he saw two other wolves with some cattle on his property north of Gardiner on Saturday night. "It's an on-going problem, every night. I spend most of the night checking to make sure wolves ain't in my calves and the sheep," he said. Hoppe says he'll continue to protect his livestock, noting that it'll be "interesting to see if they run out of wolves or I run out of sheep."...more