Advertisement
This “coyote” turned out to have a radio collar, said Adrian Wydeven, a mammalian ecologist who is considered the DNR’s wolf expert in Wisconsin.
In 2006, the Michigan DNR had fitted Wolf No. 4927 with the collar as a pup in Mackinac County in the Upper Peninsula.
The Wisconsin DNR began tracking the young male in late January after it crossed into Marinette County in the far northeast corner of the state, Wydeven said.
It lost the signal after March 10 when the wolf was in Shawano County, the southern edge of the DNR’s aerial tracking surveys, he said.
That was the last report of the animal until Thursday morning, when it was shot in the town of Seneca in western Crawford County, Wydeven said.
Crawford County is farther south than the usual wolf range in the state, but young wolves often wander great distances from where they were raised in search of new territory, Wydeven said.
The gray wolf was removed last year from the endangered and threatened species list, but still is protected in the state. The Crawford County hunter, who was not named, likely will face only a minimal fine because he immediately reported the kill and turned the carcass in, Wydeven said.
For more on this story, see Saturday's Tribune or check back at www.lacrossetribune.com.
