Current:Home > StocksGray wolves hadn’t been seen in south Michigan since the 1900s. This winter, a local hunter shot one-InfoLens
Gray wolves hadn’t been seen in south Michigan since the 1900s. This winter, a local hunter shot one
View Date:2024-12-23 12:01:27
MARSHALL, Mich. (AP) — An animal a Michigan hunter thought was a big coyote when he shot it in January has been determined to be a gray wolf, the first time the species has been found in southern Michigan in more than a century, wildlife officials say.
The hunter shot the wolf in Calhoun County, in the southern reaches of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, while taking part in legal coyote hunting accompanied by a guide, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said.
The man “said he encountered what was initially believed to be a large coyote” but it weighed 84 pounds (38 kilograms), which is significantly more than the 25 pounds (11 kilograms) to 40 pounds (18 kilograms) that Eastern coyotes typically weigh, the DNR said.
“A series of genetic tests on the harvested animal confirmed that it was a gray wolf, a species not sighted in that part of Michigan since the likely extirpation of wolves from the state in the early part of the 20th century,” the agency said Wednesday.
Gray wolves are currently confined “almost exclusively” to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the DNR said. The few instances of wolves being present in the state’s Lower Peninsula in the past two decades have been in the Lower Peninsula’s northern areas, the agency added.
“This is an unusual case, and the DNR is actively delving into the matter to learn more about this particular animal’s origin,” Brian Roell, a DNR wildlife biologist who’s a large carnivore specialist, said in a news release. “While rare, instances of wolves traversing vast distances have been documented, including signs of wolves in recent decades in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.”
Roell said Friday that the DNR learned about the animal from social media posts in January touting it as “a world record coyote” but he said he was certain from photos posted online that it was a wolf. The agency obtained samples from the animal from a taxidermist soon afterward.
Roell said the DNR received genetic test results from two laboratories late last week confirming that it was a gray wolf and the agency seized the carcass from the taxidermist earlier this week.
“We seized all parts of the animal and I was told it would be in our diagnostic laboratory today,” he told The Associated Press.
Gray wolves are a protected species under the Endangered Species Act and they can be killed “only if they are a direct and immediate threat to human life,” Michigan’s DNR said.
Roell said the question of how the wolf ended up in southern Michigan remains under investigation by the DNR. He said he harbors “some doubt” that it ended up their naturally, noting that the area of Michigan where the animal was shot does not have habitat suitable for sustaining gray wolves.
“If this animal did indeed get naturally to Calhoun County it was likely just drifting, looking for others of its own kind,” he said.
veryGood! (7483)
Related
- Volkswagen, Mazda, Honda, BMW, Porsche among 304k vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- Allison Holker Honors Beautiful, Sweet Stephen tWitch Boss on What Would've Been His 41st Birthday
- College football Week 5: The 7 best matchups to watch this weekend
- Love Is Blind's Chris Fox Reveals Why He Gave Johnie Maraist a Second Chance
- Former West Virginia jail officer pleads guilty to civil rights violation in fatal assault on inmate
- Hasan Minhaj and the limits of representation
- UAW strike to expand with calls for additional 7,000 Ford, GM workers to walk off the job
- Michael Oher's Conservatorship With Tuohy Family Officially Terminated
- Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn is ending her retirement at age 40 to make a skiing comeback
- Apple says it will fix software problems blamed for making iPhone 15 models too hot to handle
Ranking
- Wall Street makes wagers on the likely winners and losers in a second Trump term
- Disney, DeSantis legal fights ratchet up as company demands documents from Florida governor
- Christopher Worrell, fugitive Proud Boys member and Jan. 6 rioter, captured by FBI
- Josh Duhamel's Pregnant Wife Audra Mari Debuts Baby Bump at Red Carpet Event in Las Vegas
- Lou Donaldson, jazz saxophonist who blended many influences, dead at 98
- Prosecutors may extend 'offers' to 2 defendants in Georgia election case
- What was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history?
- A doctor was caught in the crossfire and was among 4 killed in a gunbattle at a hospital in Mexico
Recommendation
-
Mississippi man charged with shooting 5 people after not being allowed into party
-
Unbeaten Syracuse has chance to get off to 5-0 start in hosting slumping ACC rival Clemson
-
Dianne Feinstein, California senator who broke glass ceilings, dies at 90
-
North Macedonia national park’s rising bear population poses a threat to residents
-
UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight card, odds, how to watch, date
-
Man tied to suspected shooter in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing arrested in Las Vegas, AP sources say
-
Virginia man wins lottery 24 times in a row using a consecutive number
-
Disney Plus announces crackdown on password sharing in Canada