With the recent lassoing of a "wolf" near Boulder, Wyoming, comes word of another canine that might have been a wolf, but probably wasn't. I got a hint that the Fish and Wildlife Service had captured a canine that might be an uncollared wolf near Cody, Wyoming.
Here are the facts as I received them from two sources.
A canine that looked a lot like a wolf approached a residence on the South Fork of Shoshone. This is south of the large town of Cody. The canine (a female) was in estrus ("heat"). She mated with a black Labrador dog. This is not wolf behavior. The canine also approached a rancher rather closely (I got no indication that it was an aggressive approach).
The animal had not attacked livestock, but had been seen feeding on deer carcasses. It weighed about 75 pounds
The animal was shot by an agent from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The animal appeared a bit "stocky" for a wolf. It weighed about 75 pounds. It will be genetically-tested.
I still have no word on whether the canine that I reported on last week -- the one that was lassoed by a rancher -- was a wolf. There were photos of it in the Jackson Hole Guide. I couldn't tell. Note added in 1998. The lassoed canine turned out to be a wolf of unknown origin unrelated to the Yellowstone reintroductions.
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© 1997 Ralph Maughan
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