While coyote hunting last spring in the vicinity of Springbrook State Park, a local hunter created a social media stir after he posted this photo of what was initially believed to be a wolf.
Because wolves are protected species, Department of Natural Resources officer Jeremy King confiscated the animal and sent samples of the carcass to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department to determine its heritage. He received the DNA report back in mid-September.
Officials determined this animal was a wolf hybrid. Approximately three generations ago, the animal had a parent that was a member of the canine family (part domestic dog). It was 99 percent wolf but, according to King, because it was not a purebred wolf, the government had no interest in the carcass. He returned the carcass to the person who bagged it who told King he plans to have it mounted and put on display at various locations in the area as well as large sporting goods stores.
The animal was 94 inches long and weighed 86 pounds. It was labeled an Upper Great Plains Wolf. It had mostly raccoon in its stomach. It was determined the hybrid wolf migrated to west central Iowa from upper Michigan.
King reported that about the same time last spring, a similar animal was shot in Story County. That animal was a purebred wolf. Although Iowa does not see many wolves, King says an occasional animal will wander into the state. ~courtesy of The Scranton Journal
