See a wolf in Michigan? DNR seeking proof in the northern Lower Peninsula
A group of six gray wolves is shown walking down a snow-covered road in the Upper Peninsula. The image was captured on a trail camera image in 2024 as part of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' wolf abundance study.
(FOX 2) - Michigan's natural resource officers are asking residents to keep a lookout for any wolves or evidence suggesting the apex predator may be wandering around the state.
While there's little confidence that gray wolves have established themselves in the Lower Peninsula, the freak appearance in early 2024 when a hunter shot and killed one proves they could return.
What you can do:
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is calling on the public to help conduct a survey for the presence of the northern Lower Peninsula.
Anyone that has the time is invited to search and report any potential evidence of wolves between Feb. 17 and March 10.
If any sightings, photos, or other signs are found, the public is asked to report it to the DNR either through its Eyes in the Field website. If someone has something to report, but lacks internet access, they can contact the department's Grayling field office at 989-370-7313 or at RileyT6@michigan.gov.
If someone snaps a photo of a potential wolf track, they're asked to use a ruler in the frame to show the size of the print.
"By enlisting help from the public, we can exponentially increase the number of eyes out there looking for wolves," Brian Roell, the DNR's large carnivore specialist said. "With few records of wolves in the northern Lower Peninsula in modern times, efforts to find them will be challenging and there is the distinct possibility that they are not present at this time."
The backstory:
In January 2024, a hunter in Calhoun County in Southwest Michigan shot a gray wolf, believing it to be a coyote.
The bizarre case remains under investigation due to little evidence pointing to wolves living in the southern part of the state - as well as how a hunter could confuse a coyote with a wolf.
There were also sightings in Presque Isle County in 2004 and again in Emmet County in 2014.
A similar community survey conducted in 2019 in the northern Lower Peninsula collected nearly 100 reports of "possible wolf activity", according to a DNR press release.
Most were determined to be dogs or coyotes - however, two reports in Kalkaska and Montmorency counties were deemed credible.
No charges in killing of gray wolf in southern Michigan, experts remain stumped how it got there
The 84-pound wolf was killed roughly 300 miles south of the UP. The DNR said it learned through social media about someone shooting a "world record coyote." But this was no coyote.
Dig deeper:
Wolves disappeared from Michigan due to habitat loss and unregulated hunting practices in the 1900s. They returned to the Upper Peninsula after gaining protected status - eventually migrating from Canada and Wisconsin over the years.
The most recent survey estimated 768 wolves were living in the U.P.
However, a lack of ice over the Straits of Mackinac in recent years has acted as a barrier to accessing the Lower Peninsula.
The Source: A press release from the DNR and previous reporting was used for this story.