Twenty of Yellowstone National Park's gray wolves were killed by hunters after they roamed outside of the park's boundaries.
Park officials say it's the largest number of wolves killed in a single hunting season in more than two decades. So many wolves were killed, one particular pack is now considered "eliminated."
Fifteen wolves were shot after roaming across the park's northern border into Montana, and the other five were killed in Idaho and Wyoming, according to the Associated Press.
One group of wolves known as the Phantom Lake Pack is now considered "eliminated" after most or all of its members were killed over a two-month span beginning in October, the AP reported.
The animals often travel outside of the park, where hunting is prohibited, especially in the late fall. Yellowstone wolves in the northern range spend about 5% of their time outside the boundaries, according to the park.
Less than 100 wolves remain in Yellowstone. Officials expect that number to continue to drop as Montana's hunting season runs through March 15 and wolf trapping season is just beginning.
The large number of deaths come after longstanding hunting quotas in Montana were lifted.
For over a decade, the state of Montana limited the number of wolves taken from areas immediately adjacent to the park's northern boundary. Republican Governor Greg Gianforte recently removed the restrictions, making it easier to kill wolves, as a way to reduce attacks on livestock and big game herds. The new rules also allow baiting of wolves, which park officials worry could be luring the animals out of the park.
Back in September, park officials announced that three wolves -- two female pups and a female yearling -- from the Junction Butte Pack, considered the "most viewed wolf pack in the world," were the first reported causalities during the opening days of Montana's wolf hunting season.
Since then, Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly has repeatedly urged Gianforte to reconsider his decision and restore the quotas. Sholly said wolves are part of a balanced ecosystem in the park and without protections, the animals are "extremely vulnerable."
"We will continue to work with the state of Montana to make the case for reinstating quotas that would protect the core wolf population in Yellowstone as well as Montana's direct economic interests derived from the hundreds of millions spent by park visitors each year," Sholly said in a statement.
Gianforte defended his decision, saying Montana has rules in place that prevent overhunting.
"Once a wolf exits the park and enters lands in the State of Montana it may be harvested pursuant to regulations established by the (state wildlife) Commission under Montana law," Gianforte wrote in response to a Dec. 16 letter from Sholly.
Yellowstone reintroduced wolves to the park in 1995. Wolves from many separate packs were captured in Canada and then transported to their new home. January 12, 2020, marked the 25th anniversary since wolves returned to Yellowstone.
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