A Michigan Hunter Thought He Killed a Large Coyote. It Turned Out to Be an Endangered Gray Wolf
From Smithsonian Mag:
In January, a hunter shot and killed what he thought was a large coyote in southwest Michigan. Now, however, genetic testing has revealed that the animal was actually an endangered gray wolf—the first member of the species spotted in the region in at least a century, reports MLive.com’s Brad Devereaux.
It’s not clear how or why the animal ended up so far south. Michigan does have an established gray wolf (Canis lupus) population, but the creatures are located hundreds of miles away on the state’s Upper Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula are separated by Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, with only the Mackinac Bridge connecting them.
