A white wolf was found shot within Yellowstone.
Yellowstone officials are looking to the public for leads in the shooting of a well-known 12-year-old alpha white wolf discovered in the park last month.
In one of the first noteworthy incidents of the spring in the nation's first national park, the animal was euthanized after some hikers found it injured. The wolf was located in the northern part of the park near Gardiner, Montana back on April 11. But now officials have gotten preliminary necropsy results back and it shows the animal was shot.
"Due to the serious nature of this incident, a reward of up to $5,000.00 is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for this criminal act," Park Superintendent Dan Wenk said in a press release.
Officials do not believe the wolf was actually shot inside the park's borders. Instead they think it was shot on the northern boundary near Old Yellowstone Trail. They believe it happened between 1 .a.m. April 10 and 2 p.m. the following day.
The wolf is one of only three known white wolves to be running around the park and had a huge territory that extended all the way down to the Hayden Valley and Firehole River area. She also had at least 20 pups over the years.
Anyone with information on the incident is being urged to contact the park's investigative tip line at 888-653-0009. Tips can also be submitted online through their website or via Facebook or Twitter message.
The news of this poaching incident comes right on the heels of Wyoming re-gaining control of management of most of their wolf populations. The big exception being most of the greater Yellowstone area.
NEXT: OPEN SEASON ON SOME WYOMING WOLVES AS APPEALS COURT GIVES CONTROL BACK TO THE STATE
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