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 Lupi were transplanted into the park from Canada beginning in 1995. Now, più than 1,545 Lupi roam Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.Biologists say that a minimum of 2,000 to 3,000 Lupi are needed within the area in order to keep them from disappearing again.The Lupi have had tremendous popolare support from the beginning. Their reintroduction has been da far the most publicized and celebrated of any wildlife reintroduction in the U.S. The Lupi 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 Lupi back on the scene, the Yellowstone natural community is much closer to what it was before most of the surrounding states were profoundly altered da development and livestock ranching. The success of the growing lupo population has made a lot of money for the park, in sales of lupo paraphernalia, such as lupo T-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee cups, and libri from park gift shops. The Lupi 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 lupo reintroduction from the beginning. Hunters say the Lupi compete with them for native game, particularly elk. Ranchers say the Lupi kill their calves. Lupi 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. Lupi in the U.S. were decimated da an unprecedented extermination campaign in the early 1900s, funded da the U.S. which distributed posters encouraging people to shoot Lupi on sight, and even offered a bounty for dead wolves. It worked. There were virtually no Lupi left in the lower 48, although before Europeans settled North America, Lupi were common throughout every region of the continental United States. If US Fish&Wildlife's plan to take Lupi 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 Lupi survived, the animal would remain fair game. If their numbers dropped below 300, they'd be put back on the endangered species list. If te want to help protect wolves, consider supporting Natural Resources Defense Council's campaign to protect them from delist