After several attempts to deter a yearling male wolf from his fascination with humans and bikes, Yellowstone National Park officials killed the young rebel along Fountain Flat Drive.

The wolf was a member of the Gibbon Meadow Pack, first roaming the Midway Geyser Basin and then lurking around Biscuit Basin and Old Faithful. There were several reports of the wolf approaching Yellowstone National Park visitors, but his interest wasn't really with people: he was scavenging for food.

Indeed, as word of more incidents involving the wolf were circulated, it was clear that the wolf wasn't interested in jumping a tourist and eating their spleen or spinal cord: this was the Yogi Bear of the wolf world, a guy looking for a free meal or a convenient picnic basket. That interest did act out in some odd ways: there were at least three reports of the wolf chasing bicyclists and one involving a motorcycle. And the wolf clearly had no fear of humans, approaching groups and cars on several occasions -- in search of a handout.

Of course, for National Park officials, that distinction doesn't matter: the wolf had become conditioned to looking for human food, and such conditioning is strictly forbidden for all Yellowstone Park animals, including bears. Wildlife and people are usually not a good combination, as wildlife can turn and be aggressive at any point.

Park officials took the first steps of trying to deter the wolf from hanging around humans, including the use of rubber bullets and bean-bag rounds.

Those steps didn't work. So the wolf was put down, the first time a wolf was shot in Yellowstone National Park since their reintroduction in 1995-1996.

Still, it's a shame. It's very unlikely the wolf developed a habit of hanging around humans unless someone left food around at some point; a wolf just doesn't wake up one morning with a taste for white bread, Cheetos and deli meat.

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It's never a good time to speed and drive drunk in Yellowstone National Park, but the stakes will be higher Memorial Day weekend, when Park rangers will be conducting safety and sobriety checkpoints inside Yellowstone.  Rangers will be looking for traffic and safety violations and for impaired drivers.

In 2008, Yellowstone law enforcement rangers investigated over 400 vehicle accidents.

Newcomers frequently face some challenges when driving in Yellowstone, The posted speed limits are lower than on highways in surrounding states, and in areas like the Lamar Valley, it's easy to speed under the wide-open spaces of the 300 miles of paved roads. But there's always the possibility of wildlife -- like some large bisons or moose -- around every curve, which means drivers should always be on the lookout and following best practices when driving in the Park.

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A section of Yellowstone’s Grand Loop Road from Canyon Junction to Fishing Bridge will be closed today through Thursday to allow National Park Service staff to repair a broken water main under the road about a mile south of Canyon between the Canyon Corrals and the south end of the North Rim Drive.  The break occurred yesterday at around noon.

After the road closes, visitors can still travel to Canyon by way of Norris Junction.

NPS maintenance crews will work to reopen the road to travel late Thursday afternoon. 

The water main broke from the weight of accumulations of mud from continuous slides coming off an adjacent hill.  This is the same water main that broke last May when the roadbed collapsed.

Despite the water line break, there is adequate water stored at Canyon to avoid any disruption in service.

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It's not a good time to be a wolf in Yellowstone National Park, as several wolves have become too familiar with the humans present in the Park -- to the point where the wolves need removal.

First, a single wolf in the Old Faithful area has become much too familiar with humans, to the point of chasing bicyclists and bikers. Park officials think a single young wolf is doing this. While coyotes are known for trailing humans (or other critters; we once watched a coyote tail a badger near Riverside Geyser in hopes of scavenging what the badger chose to left behind), wolves tend to avoid humans, much less chase them.

But that's been the case recently. The solution: Park officials are hunting the problem wolf down. No mercy, either, for the young wolf: it's a case of shoot to kill.

Meanwhile, over at Mammoth Hot Springs, the four-wolf Canyon Packwill be hazed in the hopes they leave the area. They, too, apparently are a little too comfortable living close to humans. The four set up a den close to the roads leading out of Mammoth Hot Springs -- a move that forced Park officials to put up barriers preventing roadside gawkers who might get too close to the pack. The thought is that the hazing will force the wolves to retreat into the high country or back to their own stomping grounds -- far away from humans.

The thing to remember: there's never been an instance of a healthy wild wolf attacking a human. Generally speaking, wolves will keep their distance from people; even the wolves mentioned in this article haven't actually approved any Park visitors. Still, the danger of wolves becoming used to humans is great enough where the Park Service feels compelled to take strong action.

RELATED: The biggest hit of Yellowstone's summer season so far? The Canyon Pack

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