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White female wolf in the Atigun Valley, Alaska. This wolf dens in the riverbank of the Atigun inside the main valley about five miles south of Galbraith Camp. She roams at least twenty miles a day in search of food, from the main valley den into the gorge and then back to the valley proper: photo by Dennis Cowals (1945-) for the Environmental Protection Agency Project DOCUMERICA, August 1973 (US National Archives)
Grey wolf appears in Iowa for first time in 89 years -– and is shot dead
Hunter mistook animal for a coyote and escapes being cited despite wolves being a protected species in the state
![Grey wolves have been confirmed as far west as California and Oregon and as far east as Michigan]()
Grey Wolf (Canis lupus): photo by Associated Press, via The Guardian, 12 May 2014
DNA testing has confirmed that an animal shot in February in Iowa's Buchanan County was in fact a wolf, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. This is the first confirmed grey wolf (Canis lupus) in the US state since 1925.
Experts believe the wolf likely travelled south from Wisconsin or Minnesota, the latter of which has the largest wolf population in the lower 48.
The Iowa wolf, which was a 65-70 pound healthy female, was shot and killed in February of this year by a hunter who mistook it for a coyote. Although wolves remain a protected species in Iowa, the hunter was not cited, because he believed the animal to be a coyote and has cooperated with authorities, including bringing the wolf to them in the first place.
"I was surprised but not that surprised," DNA specialist Vince Evelsizer told the Gazette. "Large animals can cover great distances, and state lines mean nothing to them."
After being nearly exterminated across the continental US, grey wolves have returned to many states in the last two decades, both due to reintroductions and populations migrating from Canada. Grey wolves have been confirmed as far west as California and Oregon and as far east as Michigan.
Experts believe the wolf likely travelled south from Wisconsin or Minnesota, the latter of which has the largest wolf population in the lower 48.
The Iowa wolf, which was a 65-70 pound healthy female, was shot and killed in February of this year by a hunter who mistook it for a coyote. Although wolves remain a protected species in Iowa, the hunter was not cited, because he believed the animal to be a coyote and has cooperated with authorities, including bringing the wolf to them in the first place.
"I was surprised but not that surprised," DNA specialist Vince Evelsizer told the Gazette. "Large animals can cover great distances, and state lines mean nothing to them."
After being nearly exterminated across the continental US, grey wolves have returned to many states in the last two decades, both due to reintroductions and populations migrating from Canada. Grey wolves have been confirmed as far west as California and Oregon and as far east as Michigan.
During the same time wolves have been vindicated by science as key ecological species. As top predators, wolves not only manage prey populations of animals such as deer and elk, but also change their behavior, curbing unhindered grazing. For example, the wolf's return to Yellowstone National Park led to a resurgence in young forest and a subsequent explosion in biodiversity.
But in many states wolves are now actively hunted and trapped. A legislative rider stripped wolves of protection from the Endangered Species Act in 2011, the only animal to ever lose its protection in this way.
As of January this year, hunters and trappers have killed 2,567 grey wolves in the US's lower 48 states since 2011. In all, around 6,000 wolves are thought to inhabit the lower 48 now, up from a nadir of 300 before the grey wolf gained protection in 1974.
Jeremy Hance, GuardianEnvironmental Network, 12 May 2014
Adara (Canis lupus), alpha female of the high country wolves. Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, West Yellowstone, Montana: photo by Nomadic Lass, 18 May 2011
McKinley (Canis lupus), Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, West Yellowstone, Montana: photo by Nomadic Lass, 18 May 2011
Grey Wolf (Canis lupus), seen by the side of Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park: photo by GlacierNPS, 10 April 2012
Grey Wolf (Canis lupus), seen by the side of Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park: photo by GlacierNPS, 10 April 2012
An endangered Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) peers out from a snow-covered shelter: photo by Tracy Brooks, 2002 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Arctic Wolf (Canis lupus family canidae or plains tundra or timber wolf): photographer unknown, 25 February 2013 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Gray wolf (Canis lupus) lying in grass: photo by John and Karen Hollingsworth, 2002 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Gray wolf (Canis lupus), Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald, Deutschland: photo by Martin Mecnarowski, November 2008
Canis lupus at Bialowieza: photo by Przykuta, 2007
Black and grey female wolf (Canis lupus), in road near Lamar River bridge: photo by Jim Peaco, December 2003 (U.S. National Park Service)
Canis lupus, seen before hunt, Quebec: photo by Peupleloup, 2004
Grey Wolf puppy (Canis lupus), dreaming, Alpenzoo, Innsbruck: photo by btristan, 13 July 2007
Grey Wolves (Canis lupus), Rotterdam Zoo: photo by Sander van der Wel, 15 January 2010