Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is investigating the illegal killing of a well-known Yellowstone wolf after her GPS collar was found cut off and discarded, with rewards for information climbing past $31,000.
The wolf, identified as 1478F, was a young female from Yellowstone National Park’s Junction Butte pack, the most frequently viewed wolf pack in the world. Born in 2022, she had become a familiar figure to researchers and park visitors and was widely regarded as a potential future leader within the pack.
According to the park, game wardens believe the animal was killed around 10 pm on Christmas Day 2025 near Gardiner, Montana, in an area known as Jardine.
The killing is considered illegal because it occurred inside Wolf Management Unit 313, which had been closed to hunting since November 16 after the unit’s three-wolf quota was already met.
Reward rises to $31k for info regarding wolf killer
Investigators were alerted after the wolf’s tracking collar sent a mortality signal. When wardens searched the area, they found the GPS collar had been deliberately cut off and thrown into a tree. The wolf’s body has not been recovered.
Officials believe the timing and circumstances of the killing point to a deliberate act rather than a mistake. Because the incident occurred late at night, experts have suggested the person responsible may have used night vision or thermal imaging equipment to locate the wolf.
The removal and concealment of the collar is also being treated as an attempt to hide the crime.
The case has drawn particular attention because of 1478F’s lineage. She was the daughter of 907F, a legendary Yellowstone matriarch who died in late 2024 at age 11, and the sibling of 1479F, a wolf that was legally killed by a hunter in September 2025.
The park initially offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. Private donations from groups including the Large Carnivore Fund and Wolves of the Rockies have since pushed the reward to at least $31,000, with some estimates reaching as high as $36,700 following additional pledges.
Anyone with information related to the case is urged to contact Gardiner game warden Kameron Rauser at 406-224-5207 or submit an anonymous tip through the TIP-MONT online portal.
