Dog Creek Wolf Pack wiped out by 1 hunter on a snowmobile – will famous Mollie’s Pack be next?
By Staci-lee Sherwood
In 2023 a hunter riding a snowmobile killed an entire 12 member Wolf pack in the Grand Tetons. The Dog Creek Pack had been studied since 2008 and by 2023 was wiped out. They were tracked down and either run over or shot. Methods allowed to kill wolves vary from state to state but they all include steel leg hold traps, other methods include ‘denning’ where you throw dynamite or some other explosive into the den killing all life and ‘Wolf whacking’ which kills them by driving over them with a snowmobile. Aerial hunting is big in Alaska where the helicopters get so close they’re almost riding the Wolves as the hunter shoots them all. In September 2026 Wisconsin killed nine wolves. There have only been 2 known wolf attacks in the USA, one in 2005 and 2010 both in Alaska.
Hundreds of Americans die every day by vehicles, drugs, alcohol, guns and murder. Healthy wolf attacks aren’t even on the radar except as an excuse to kill wolves.
Wolf hunting is not about management certainly not conservation. That’s the self serving propaganda ranchers and hunters spew when in reality very few cows are killed by Wolves and the government gives them a taxpayer handout when it happens, so there is no financial loss to them. Hunters will say anything to justify their blood lust for killing animals. If we were truly a civilized society hunting would cease to exist as a sport. In real sports both sides know and play by the same rules. Hunting is not a sport and hunters are the antithesis of real men.
In August 2026 several threats to kill the most famous Alpha female (1090A) leader of the oldest living pack in Yellowstone, the Mollies Pack, was made by ‘Kyri Ranch’ on Facebook. Everyone knows if you are too ashamed to show your face and use your real name you must have something to hide, and that is almost always the case. Social media is a bastion for people desperate to get attention hiding behind the keyboard and saying anything for likes. We also know the mentality of hunters so this pack is in fact in danger. Hunters will use any tactic to lure animals from sounds to food and urine.
The Mollie’s pack has been studied by biologists and scientists from all over the world since the 1990s when the Wolves were finally re-introduced. Losing them is not only a tragedy as any loss of life is but also one of science and economics. Tourists flock to Yellowstone hoping to see Wolves and Bears. They might think twice about spending their money where Wolf hunters are running free.
Majority of Americans do NOT hunt
It’s odd how the minority has such an overwhelming loud voice against a huge majority when it comes to hunting. Depending on who you ask only between 4- 9% of Americans hunt and about 90% of them are men. Why is the majority of the public letting this small group dictate how our land and wildlife live? Who gives them the right to have sway over what should be majority rule? Hunters and developers have infested every aspect of government from local agencies to federal ones. This is the one area where the few out rule the many and by doing so have crashed many populations of species.
The economics of Wolves on our public lands
A live wolf is worth more than a dead wolf. This is also true for sharks and any other species. Think how much money tourists spend on airfare, rental cars, hotels, eateries, camera equipment rentals and tour guides just in the hopes of seeing wolves in the wild. The state may be huge in size but their population is about ½ million. Wyoming’s economy is sustained in large part by tourism. While the public may think of cattle ranches and agriculture as the symbol of Wyoming, those industries bring in about $1.6 billion a year, far less than tourism. As more people turn away from meat, either for health or ethical reasons, that number might drop. Travel on the other hand is increasing. In 2025 the state reaped the economic benefits of tourism to the tune of $5 billion dollars.
Wyoming gets more $$$ from tourism than agriculture.
Wyoming is home to two huge spectacular national parks, Grand Teton and Yellowstone. I have spent many summers and one winter hiking around and photographing both parks. In 1995 and 1999 I was in Yellowstone because the wolves had finally been re-introduced. This was the most successful project USFWS ever accomplished, ahead of schedule and under budget. In the years following tens of millions of people flocked to Yellowstone and the greater Yellowstone ecosystem which includes three national forests that surround the park totaling over 10,000,000 acres. This is a prime economic engine which also includes neighboring Montana. The National Park Service, which is charged with protecting Yellowstone and Grand Teton, said 2024 saw $828 million in tourists coming to the parks and in 2025 that reached about $1 billion. Both parks are home to Wolves, Bears, Elk and a variety of other species but those are the primary species tourists want to see.
According to the Go Hunt website a resident license is $21 and non-resident is $187 to kill a Wolf. This year they sold 2500. Even if every license sold was out fo state that only comes to $467,000. By stark contrast money Wolf tourism is estimated at $82,000,000 going to the park and local communities. Wyoming makes money from living Wolves not dead ones.
We don’t have a Wolf population problem we have a Wolf hunting problem created by ranchers and hunters and anti conservationists. They’re the problem not the wolves. The fiscal facts prove that.
On September 22, 2026 Wyoming Fish & Game Commission held a meeting where several people spoke up to give our Wolves a voice. We can only hope that the hunter claiming to have the Mollies Pack on his hit list fails. Wyoming has both a moral and economic obligation to protect the Wolves. They have always lived here and deserve more, not less, legal protection.
Click to play tape of my statement for the wolves.
Wolves bring in millions in revenue and helps sustain a healthy diverse ecosystem while naturally managing the herbivores like deer, elk and mule.
Click here for a detailed report on the cost the state pays to manage and kill Wolves VS tourism money by Suzie Dundas in 2024
The Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. Tens of millions of visitors each year brings in money and creates job. It’s the main attraction in the state.
Grand Teton National Park.
How you can help save our Wolves
If you live in a state that is lucky enough to have Wolves appreciate them and educate your neighbors. Education goes with compassion and studies have shown those lacking in education often lack compassion.
Of course don’t ever hunt, trap or bait them.
If you happen to locate a pack or den never ever give the location. It will only end up in the hands of hunter, every state and federal wildlife agency is run by and for hunters, ranchers and developers who all work together to clear the land for themselves. I never give a location of any animal.
Support nonprofits fighting to save them. Look for organizations that do more than just put out studies and speak at hearings, look for groups who sue. Research them to insure they are actually working to save Wolves and not just taking your money.
Be wary of organizations like Defenders of Wildlife who have failed to do anything for Wolves. They were great in the 1990s as a driving force for Yellowstone re-introduction and compensating ranchers with verified cattle losses but have failed in the years since.
Click here to read how awful they’ve become so don’t waste your money https://www.realitycheckswithstacilee.com/post/fall-from-grace-from-saving-wildlife-to-exploiting-them-for-cash
Click here for a Wyoming group working to end the cruel method of trapping wildlife Wyoming Untrapped
https://wyominguntrapped.org/news/wildlife-cannot-speak-pets- cannot-vote-but-you-can-act-now-2/
Click here to help end trophy hunting Abolish Sport Hunting
https://abolishsporthunting.org/
Click here to learn about Earthjustice
Click here to read about the history of our relationship with wolves and the tragedy of the Timberline Wolf Pack
A lot of Canadians chose not to continue to visit United Ststes because we treated them with such disrespect in so many ways. Imagine if Americans were truly united and decided to skip a few years and stop visiting Yellowstone park or other Wyoming state parks. It would be great to be able create a economic blow to Wyoming. They really are a terrible ignorant bunch. Maybe, it will just blow up like it is expected instead of its current torture of wildlife. It would be sad for the animals and the surrounding beauty but then again, a karmic payback would be fitting
Frankly, calling some doofus on a snowmobile a "hunter" is a far far stretch!
The last I heard, Molly's Pack was still ok - but of course the threat is ongoing