Yellowstone wolves down 25 percent

Natural deaths, run-ins with humans and hunting have combined to cut Yellowstone National Park’s wolf populations by about a quarter.

The latest count shows 15 wolves that ventured into Yellowstone over the past year were legally killed in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming hunts.

Eight to 11 of those animals spent the majority of the last year in the park and would likely have been counted toward official 2012 year-end population tallies.

Despite the drop, Yellowstone’s wolf population is still well above recovery goals laid out in the Wyoming wolf management plan.