Researchers stated Monday that after the animals were delisted under the Endangered Species Act and the state permitted a public hunt, up to a third of Wisconsin's gray wolves may have been killed earlier this year.

In new research, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison calculated that between April 2020 and April 2021, 313 to 323 wolves were likely murdered by people. According to Adrian Treves, a professor at UW-Madison and one of the study's primary authors, the numbers should raise worries about future hunting seasons in Wisconsin.

"Although the [Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources] strives for population stability, we estimate the population has decreased significantly," Treves said in a statement.

Calling off Lawful Hunts

The findings come only months after state wildlife authorities were forced to call off a lawful wolf hunt after only three days. Hunters killed at least 216 wolves in roughly 60 hours, greatly above the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' standard of 119. The statistics astounded conservationists, who had filed a lawsuit to block the hunt, claiming that it would occur during the wolves' mating season, when they are most vulnerable, according to The New York Times.

Wisconsin had planned to start its first hunt in six years in November 2021. Still, a pro-hunting organization sued and obtained a court ruling in February, allowing the endeavor to proceed.

Related Article: Red Wolves are Going Extinct and Chances of Recovery are Extremely Low

Poaching Related Deaths

Many of the additional wolf deaths, according to the researchers, were caused by "cryptic poaching," in which hunters hide evidence of their murders. As a result, they believe that around 695 to 751 wolves left in the state, down from at least 1,034 last year.

Without any other hunting, Treves and his co-authors believe that wolf numbers may recover in one or two years. Wisconsin state law mandates a wolf hunt between November and February when there is no federal restriction.

According to the Associated Press, several experts have cautioned that additional data is required to establish that wolf numbers have dropped so significantly in such a short period of time.

After wolves were initially protected in 1974, the Trump administration withdrew them from the Endangered Species Act, which took effect in January. After being nearly wiped out from the lower 48 states due to decades of hunting and eradication operations, then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt stated the creatures had "exceeded all conservation targets for recovery."

Introduction of Wolves in the Local Habitat

In the 1990s, the federal government reintroduced wolves to Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. As a result, Wolf populations exploded, and wolf management has been a divisive topic at the federal level for decades.

Wolf Conservation

Wolf conservation objectives are largely left up to states to handle now that they have been removed from the Endangered Species Act earlier this year. First, however, they must submit five-year monitoring plans to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. According to the EPA, around 6,000 wolves in the lower 48 states, with the majority of them found in Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Also Read: Mexican Gray Wolves are Slowly Reintroduced in the Wild with the Help of this Conservation Biologist

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