Man fined for killing gray wolf without license

A Wyoming man was ordered to pay $1,855 for killing a gray wolf in the state’s trophy zone without a license – and then trying to pretend he had taken the animal legally.

The Powell Tribune reports a judge also suspended 21-year-old Cody resident Austin Kondash’s hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for three years.

Kondash pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense on Nov. 19 in Park County’s Circuit Court.

In most of the state, wolves are classified as predators and can be killed at any time, with the only requirement being that the harvest is reported to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. However, the species is classified as a trophy animal in the northwest corner of the state, with a regulated hunting season.

That licensed trophy zone includes the Sunlight area, where Kondash killed the wolf on Oct. 26.