A collective sigh of relief occurred when animal welfare organizations and animal lovers heard that the beloved Mollie's Pack survived the opening of wolf hunting season in Wyoming. 

The beloved Yellowstone wolves crossed the invisible boundary leaving the protected park and venturing onto land in Wyoming hunting zones. 

The sad news is that four other wolves were killed in those zones. Game and Fish Interim Deputy Director Dan Smith said in a press release, “Wolf hunt areas 1 and 2 closed on Saturday after reaching the mortality limit of four wolves. None of the wolves taken were from the wolf packs that were previously assigned to Yellowstone National Park.” 

Mollie's Pack raised pups outside the park and returned just before hunting season began. The pups were old enough to travel farther away from their den and maybe the intuition of the 12-year-old matriarch, Wolf 1090F led them to safety. 

Yellowstone's oldest wolf pack has a huge fan base who are delighted to see them in photographs, hear updates on the pack, and are thrilled they all survived.

The pack traces back to wolves reintroduced in 1995 called the Crystal Creek Pack. In 2000, they were renamed Mollie's Pack after Mollie Beattie, first female director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who helped oversee the reintroduction.  

Mollie's Pack is led by one of the oldest Yellowstone wolves, Wolf 1090F. The 12-year-old alpha female is double the age that most wild wolves live to. Trophy hunters were targeting her, but she managed to get her pack back to safety just in time. 

While animal welfare organizations are glad Mollie's Pack survived, they are heartbroken for the ten wolves killed in just one week into Wyoming's hunting season. Center for Biological Diversity continues to fight to protect all wolves. They said, "The bad news: Across the state, 10 wolves have been killed by trophy hunters and 12 more wolf tags remain. We're in court to protect them all."

Learn how you can help protect gray wolves here.