Unfortunately, I continue to believe that the penalties associated with these kinds of violations are out of date and far too light.  Let's face it; costs have gone up; incomes have risen; and hunting and shooting are now the pastimes of the spoiled kids in the higher income and wealth brackets.  Even the most basic of today's rifles will sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.  Good scopes range upward of a thousand dollars each and, with installation, the mounts can approach a thousand.  It's not that rare for a box of twenty cartridges to go for nearly a hundred dollars and it can take a couple of boxes just to sight in and get into practice for each season.  Then, there are the spotting scopes, binoculars, rangefinders, skinning knives, gutting knives, bone saws, clothing, sleeping bags, tents, camping trailers, RVs, GPS equipment, other camping equipment, licenses, and the huge trucks needed to haul it all.  The investment to outfit and stage a modern hunting trip of less than a week a year can easily reach into many tens of thousands of dollars for today's spoiled rich kids.  Working class folks might be able to patch together some kind of cheaper hunt, but only at a cost to their family's budget and savings potential.

So, as I have commented before, when the article warns that the "illegal taking or aiding or abetting the illegal taking of wildlife" or really any other kind of violation in a national park is "subject to a fine up to $5,000 and/or up to six months imprisonment," I'm just not convinced that's any kind of adequate deterrent for many of today's wealthy degenerates.  Just think about all of the wealthy heirs, politicians, and celebrities who fly around the world to kill rare wildlife for fun and pose for pictures with the corpses.  Six months in jail might be a deterrent, but only because it would force them to miss the debauchery and fun at some of their parties.  But, a $5,000 fine?  That kind of fine would really not even be life changing for me; it's an absolute joke for those folks.

Just gotta shake my head - what a stupid, senseless act!  I hope the perpetrator gets caught and gets the maximum punishment!!!

Don't want to "Jump the Gun" but is it possible that it was self defense?

No, unless self defense includes being too afraid to leave your house unless you have a gun to kill anything remotely menacing. You've seen too many movies

No, John Perreault, if you honestly think there's a chance it might have been self defense, then you haven't had much experience with wolves, especially in that particular area of Grand Teton National Park and even more so in that area in October when their coats are growing in fast and they're still fat, overheated, and lazy.  I could bore you with my story of mistakenly walking into very tight quarters with a half dozen captive but allegedly wild and very dangereous wolves and erroneously thinking they must be some of the famous protection dogs that, in those days, were newly arriving from eastern Europe.  By the time I was frantically being warned of my mistake, I had all of them, including the supposedly fierce alpha male rolling over for me to scratch their stomachs.  I could bore you with the whole story; but, I sense that, since it might not fit what you are already invested in believing, you wouldn't believe it or would say it doesn't apply or whatever.  Frankly, I'm more comfortable hiking right through even the largest of wolf packs than trying to walk past a redneck trailer park full of mongrel pit bulls.

All righty then,  I got it, Wolf Encounters 101: tickle first, if that doesn't work...... try ringing a bell?