The Smithsonian Magazine has recently published an article about the hunting of wolves in Wisconsin (1). This hunt began for the first time in many years after "the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed gray wolves’ endangered species status at the beginning of January". There was an 82% excess in kills due to a variety of reasons. Wisconsin had an estimated wolf population of ca. 1,200 a year ago, so taking 216 was almost 20% of the state's population.
The hunt was supposed to be limited to 119 wolves for the issued permits (final take was 216), with an additional 81 permits going to indigenous people in Wisconsin, who usually accept the quota but do not hunt the wolves as they are sacred to their beliefs. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources apparently issued too many licenses as the hunting was optimal for wolves with lots of snow for spotting their trails, and many hunters used dogs to track them down.
Most states have taken advantage of this down-grade of endangered species status and initiated their own hunts. "As of 2017, the United States as a whole has up to 18,000 wolves, about two thirds of which are in Alaska." (2)
Clearly there seems to be some question about the viability of existing populations. Prior to the state sanctioned hunts, populations were "occasionally culled for depredation control" by the Federal Government.
Should the endangered species status have been revoked? And is there a real threat of wolves causing major problems in the U.S.?
"Hunters Killed 82% More Wolves Than Quota Allowed in Wisconsin "
1. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hunters-kill-82-more-wolves-quota-allowed-wisconsin-180977132/
"List of gray wolf populations by country"
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ons_by_country