The wolf was one of two that escaped snare traps set legally by trappers outside of the Denali park boundaries this winter, wildlife officials said.
The gray wolf, one of Denali's more visible wolves for tourists because it would stay close to the park road, was spotted by park employees several times, but always managed to give them the slip.
On Friday, though, park wildlife biologist Tom Meier and a veterinarian spotted the wolf's tracks in fresh snow atop a ridge and went after it. Meier immobilized the wolf with a tranquilizer dart and veterinarian Denise Albert removed the snare, cleaned the gaping wound and gave the wolf antibiotics.
The snare had cut deeply, as much as 2 inches, into the animal's neck, but Meier said the wolf probably will survive.
"It survived two months with the snare. This is an improvement," he said Monday.
The fate of another Denali wolf also seen this spring with a snare around its neck is uncertain. That wolf, a black one, hasn't been seen for weeks and Meier said it may have died.
Some trapping allowed
Denali National Park has about 100 wolves in 18 packs. The black wolf belongs to the Toklat Pack, whose members are most sighted by tourists inside the 6-million-acre park in interior Alaska.
Denali's wolves in winter tend to head for an area outside the park's northeast boundary that is the traditional wintering grounds for caribou, moose and sheep. A special no-trapping buffer zone was created to protect wolves but they move outside the zone to follow prey.
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Such a disgusting and disturbing way to hunt. Wouldn't mind seeing a few 'hunters' caught in a snare left out there in the wild left to rot.
