Wolves Roam to New States, Tragedy for One

Last February, a coyote hunter accidentally shot dead what experts thought could have been the state's first gray wolf in nearly 90 years. Now, DNA testing of the animal has confirmed that, tragically, it was indeed one of the protected species.

The coyote killer shot the wolf near Fairbank, Iowa, The Gazette reported. Although the Iowa state department had warned hunters that rare gray wolves may eventually be crossing state lines into Iowa, officials are chalking up the incident as an honest mistake. The unnamed hunter had been tracking a large coyote in the area where the wolf was shot.

Although this was a single wolf, it is the first grey wolf the state has seen since 1925. Vince Evelsizer, a furbearer specialist at Iowa's Department of Natural Resources, told The Gazette that it will be up to the state department to remind hunters to double check before they shoot. While hunting coyotes is legal in Iowa, any more Canis lupus deaths will not be well tolerated.

Wolves were once common throughout all of North America, but hunting largely eliminated them in all but the northernmost states by the 1930s. Now Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin and Wyoming are the last few states to be known homes for these pack hunters. Alaska alone is the home to the Majority of US wolves, hosting more than 11,000 of the estimated 16,200 found in the states, the Defenders of Wildlife, a not-for-profit based out of Washington DC report.

Still, all is not lost. A 2012 report made by Iowa's Department of Natural Resources projected that roaming grey wolves may eventually be making their way across state lines.

"Large animals can cover great distances, and state lines mean nothing to them," Evelsizer told reporters.

What makes this story most tragic is that the Iowa wolf was found to be a female. February is mating season for Canis lupus, and it has been speculated that she could have been looking for a male.

Another wandering wolf had found media attention after becoming the first of his species to step past California boarders in 90 years. This wolf was a bit more lucky than his Iowa cousin, reportedly finding a mate after wandering between Oregon and California.

"If this pair does breed, in a decade there could be wolves recolonizing habitat in Northern California. He's certainly been there and checked it out," Steve Pedery, conservation director for Oregon Wild, an wildlife advocacy group, told the Los Angeles Times.