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Michigan DNR: Hunter kills gray wolf in Calhoun County Lower Peninsula

Michigan DNR: Hunter kills gray wolf in Calhoun County​

The hunter encountered what he initially thought to be a large coyote while hunting with a guide.​

FILE PHOTO

FILE PHOTO(USFWS)
By Brendan Vrabel
Published: Apr. 3, 2024 at 9:00 AM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
CALHOUN COUNTY, Mich. (WILX) - The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced Wednesday that a Michigan hunter killed a gray wolf in January during a legal coyote hunt.
According to the DNR, a Michigan hunter reported harvesting a large animal in Calhoun County in January. Later, genetic tests by the Michigan DNR revealed the animal to be a gray wolf.
The hunter encountered what he initially thought to be a large coyote while hunting with a guide. He harvested the animal, which weighed 84 pounds. The DNR said eastern coyotes typically weigh between 25 pounds and 40 pounds.
The state’s known wolf population is located in the Upper Peninsula, and the DNR said they continue to search for wolves in the Lower Peninsula but have found only a few signs of wolf presence in that part of Michigan since the state’s wolf population became re-established in the 1980s. The DNR does not believe that a gray wolf has been sighted in that part of Michigan since the likely extirpation of the wolves in the state in the early 20th century.
Genetic tests confirmed the animal to be a gray wolf that had not been sighted in the southern Lower Peninsula in years.
The DNR is investigating the presence of this wolf in Calhoun County. They continued stating that they did not suspect the animal was part of an established population in the southern Lower Peninsula.
The DNR said there is no need to be concerned about a larger wolf presence in the county.
The public should not be concerned about broader wolf presence in the county or the Lower Peninsula. Data collected on collared wolves in Michigan have shown the animals can travel thousands of miles, in some cases far beyond their known range.
“This is an unusual case, and the DNR is actively delving into the matter to learn more about this particular animal’s origin,” said Brian Roell, large carnivore specialist for the DNR. “While rare, instances of wolves traversing vast distances have been documented, including signs of wolves in recent decades in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.”
The DNR listed several other wolves presences in the northern Lower Peninsula, including:
  • “In October 2004, a wolf originally collared in the eastern Upper Peninsula was captured and killed by a coyote trapper in Presque Isle County.
  • During winter track surveys in 2011 and 2015, track evidence consistent with wolflike animals was observed in Cheboygan and Emmet counties.
  • In 2014, biologists from the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians captured a wolf on a trail camera during an eagle survey. DNA analysis of scat collected at the site confirmed the animal as a wolf.”
People can view more information on Michigan’s wolf population on their website here.
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Calhoun County?? Now that's an odd one. I can't help but be fascinated at the idea of a wolf in Southern Michigan at this point in time. Curious what will happen in the future.
 
Is there any repercussion for the hunter? Doesn’t mention any kind of fine or anything. I’m unfamiliar with MI’s regs, is there an open wolf season?
 
That's wild! Probably less than 30 miles to the Indiana border from the southern end of that county. The people, interstates, and highways that thing traversed.
 
Is it just me or is that picture of the wolf used all over the place?

That one has been shot over a dozen times at least!
 
The photo is just a stock photo of a wolf. The USFWS offers it for news sources who don't know what a wolf looks like, and to help certain R1 hunters in the new "is it a wolf or a husky?" ID test.

Stock photos, for those who don't know, are are photographs that are licensed for commercial purposes. Commonly, marketing agencies and people who need a photo for graphic design will use them to add personality and excitement to an image — without having to conduct a photoshoot of their own. They’re usually not tied to a specific place or time, for good reason. To learn more, check out this exciting link at Adobe! Adobe, we gave you photoshop so you could turn celebrity photos into something dark and kind of creepy.
 
Calhoun County?? Now that's an odd one. I can't help but be fascinated at the idea of a wolf in Southern Michigan at this point in time. Curious what will happen in the future.
Southern Michigan… that’s practically Ohio
 
So NOW can we take the Great Lakes population off the ESL??

Wolves need to set up an organic smoothie shop in Glencoe, own 7 bespoke "pick your own berry" farms that only allow linen to be worn, and a cidery outside of Frankenmuth before CBD will allow it.

Also, we need to get an affirmative action for wolves law passed, so the persecution stops.
 
Wolves need to set up an organic smoothie shop in Glencoe, own 7 bespoke "pick your own berry" farms that only allow linen to be worn, and a cidery outside of Frankenmuth before CBD will allow it.

Also, we need to get an affirmative action for wolves law passed, so the persecution stops.

Why, did you omit gender affirming care?
 
Wolves need to set up an organic smoothie shop in Glencoe, own 7 bespoke "pick your own berry" farms that only allow linen to be worn, and a cidery outside of Frankenmuth before CBD will allow it.

Also, we need to get an affirmative action for wolves law passed, so the persecution stops.
What a bunch of Lemmings!
 
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