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A Gray Wolf Was Killed In Southern Michigan. Experts Remain Stumped About How It Got There.
Wildlife specialists have come to a dead end in trying to figure out how a grey wolf got to southern Michigan for the first time in over a century.
A hunter killed the wolf in January after reporting to the authorities that he had thought it was a coyote. It was shocking because the southern Lower Peninsula of Michigan lacks the necessary habitat for grey wolves despite their abundance in the Upper Peninsula, where the most recent estimate puts the population at around 700.
Wolf | PixaBay Image
A Gray Wolf Was Killed In Southern Michigan. Experts Remain Stumped About How It Got There.
He said something natural might have happened, and human assistance might have been possible. We would be very grateful for any information that the public may have.
Although certain species can cross the Straits of Mackinac between the peninsulas when ice forms on the Great Lakes, Roell noted that the ice conditions have yet to be solid this winter.
He said that a wolf traveling from another part of the Upper Midwest to southern Michigan would also encounter obstacles.
Wolf | AP News Image
A Gray Wolf Was Killed In Southern Michigan. Experts Remain Stumped About How It Got There.
A mark on a foot indicated that the wolf had been recently trapped.
That merely heightens the curiosity, Roell added.
Around 300 miles (482 km) south of the Upper Peninsula, in Calhoun County, during coyote hunting season, the wolf was killed. Social media postings were how the DNR found out about it.
The DNR stated that only in cases when grey wolves directly endanger human life can they be killed under the Endangered Species Act.
Wolf | PIxaBay Image
A Gray Wolf Was Killed In Southern Michigan. Experts Remain Stumped About How It Got There.
A taxidermist had preserved and filled the garment when the agency became engaged. DNR took the mount.
The agency recently turned over its investigation to the Calhoun County prosecutor. An Associated Press email for comment wasn’t responded to immediately on Thursday.
SOURCE – (AP)
