Despite well publicized fears of ranchers, the wolves had an almost-perfect first year related to livestock. Although a young male killed two sheep on January 12, the wolf was captured and moved back to the park within two days and the livestock producer was compensated by Defenders of Wildlife. More significantly, wolf reintroduction has produced significant economic benefits for communities near Yellowstone, according to National Park Service reports. Although many people predicted wolves would not be very visible, they were seen by visitors on 43 consecutive days this past spring. More than 6,000 Yellowstone Park visitors saw the wolves in 1995, and at least six times that number spent considerable time in Lamar Valley looking for them.
Visitors now rate wolves as the number one animal they want to see, replacing grizzly bears.
This activity resulted in increased tourism in the towns like Red Lodge and Cooke City that are near the reintroduction area. Park visitation through the Cooke City entry to the park was up 18 percent this year.