Federal probe started in animal shooting
Game officials investigating whether animal shot in Greeley County was a wolf
By Robert Pore
rpore@theindependent.com
Federal authorities are trying to determine whether an animal shot in December in Greeley County was a wolf.
Mark Webb, a special law enforcement agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based in Lincoln, could neither confirm nor deny Monday whether there is any investigation of a shooting of a possible wolf in Greeley County in December — if it involves an open investigation by that agency.
“If there was a wolf taken in Nebraska, it would be a violation of the Endangered Species Act,” Webb said on Monday. “If it is a violation, then it is an ongoing investigation, and I cannot discuss any ongoing investigations.
“But I can verify that an animal was picked up, but at this point in time, I don’t have any idea what that animal is.”
Richard Bishoff, who heads the nongame and mammal program for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, also said he could not verify whether the animal shot was a wolf.
He said the animal was shot and killed on Dec. 15, 2002, near the Greeley and Boone County line not far from Highway 91, near Spalding.
Bishoff said the animal was shot by people hunting coyotes and was reported to the local conservation agent that same day.
The local conservation agent took the animal first to Game and Parks authorities in Norfolk. The animal was then transferred to Lincoln on Dec. 20.
Because of the holiday season, the animal was put in a freezer to preserve it, with Bishoff planning to conduct a post-mortem examination in early January. But before he was able to conduct the exam last week, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials intervened. If the animal did turn out to be a wolf, any possible investigation would be the jurisdiction of federal authorities because of the Endangered Species Act.
The animal is being examined at a wildlife forensic laboratory in Ashland, Ore., to determine whether it was a wolf, Bishoff said.
Along with determining whether the animal was a wolf, a post-mortem exam could also tell if the animal had escaped from confinement. Examiners could look at the animal’s stomach contents, its paws and nails or whether it was tattooed or had embedded into it a microchip for identification or tracking purposes.
“There is a chance that you could determine whether or not the animal was wild or held in captivity,” Bishoff said. “What’s a lot more difficult is to determine whether the animal was a hybrid or purebred wolf. The problem that we are dealing with is that dogs and wolves are of the same species.”
Because dogs and wolves are of the same species, he said, there’s very little differentiation with a hybridized variation because the dog portion could go back many generations and the genetic signs are very subtle and hard to pick up.
Other ways to differentiate whether it was a dog or a wolf are by examining the animal’s skull size, general body appearance, health and the condition of its pelt. He said a DNA test could also be done to determine whether it was a dog or a wolf. But because the two species are so similar, a DNA test could be inconclusive.
Bishoff said the lab in Oregon has dealt with similar situations and would be more qualified in determining whether the animal was a wolf.
He said a similar incident took place in the winter of 2001 when what was thought to be a wolf was captured near Lincoln. But after investigation, he said, it turned out to be a hybrid animal. The animal was put down because of disease concerns.
Bishoff said they could find out within the next several weeks whether the animal shot in Greeley County in December was a wolf.
He said he does not know if there has been confirmed evidence of wild wolves in Nebraska in recent history. The gray wolf, which once roamed the Nebraska prairies, became extinct in the state probably between 1915 and 1920, and up until that time, the animal was mainly found in western Nebraska.
Wolves live in Minnesota and have been successfully introduced in Yellowstone National Park. A wolf roaming out of its range and coming to Nebraska remains only an extremely rare possibility.
“Nobody is going to say it is impossible,” he said. “The fact that it is not very likely doesn’t say it is impossible. Ten years ago, people would say it was impossible for us to have mountain lions. But we do have some confirmed observations in the state. You can never say never on these things.”
http://www.theindependent.com/stories/011403/new_animal14.shtml