Lenore Sobota
DWIGHT — What authorities think is a gray wolf is undergoing testing after it was found dead along Interstate 55 near Dwight.
Chris Young, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said “a probable wolf” was picked up by an Illinois Conservation Police officer on April 10. It was struck by a vehicle.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is testing the animal to confirm it is a wild wolf, Young said. If confirmed, it would be the second time this year that a female gray wolf was found dead in the state, he said.
Less than a dozen wolves have been confirmed in Illinois since they began reappearing in 2002 after an absence of more than a century.
The federal agency confirmed through genetic testing that a female gray wolf found in Grundy County on Feb. 13 was from the Great Lakes population and likely died after being struck by a vehicle.
That wolf was found along Nettle School Road north of Interstate 80, Young said. That’s less than 30 miles from where the second animal was found near Dwight.
Doug Dufford, IDNR wildlife disease and invasive wildlife program manager, said, “I suspect what we’re dealing with are two sub-adult females.”
Although wolves generally travel in packs, individuals of both genders will go off on their own, Dufford said, and most wolves found in Illinois “are just dispersing, just wandering.”
“Lone, dispersing wolves have traveled as far as 600 miles in search of a mate or territory,” according to a Fish & Wildlife Service fact sheet.
After federal authorities finish their testing, Dufford said the animals will be taken to the Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for further investigation to determine their age and reproductive status.
The first wolf is probably from Wisconsin, Dufford said.
About 800 wolves are in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Most live in the heavily wooded northern part of the state.
Gray wolves are listed as endangered and protected under Illinois and federal law.
After being eliminated in Illinois in the mid- to late-1800s, the first wolf to be confirmed in Illinois was shot during a coyote hunt in Marshall County in 2002.
If the animal killed near Dwight is positively identified as a wolf, it will be the 12th wolf confirmed in Illinois since counting resumed with the Marshall County wolf, according to figures compiles by the U of I Extension. Six were young males.
“Wolves aren’t known to be aggressive unless they are cornered or injured or sick,” Dufford said. “They’re fairly reclusive.”
If you do encounter a wolf, Dufford said not to approach it or run away. Instead, he said, “You want to stand your ground and slowly back away.”
Gray wolf?
An adult wolf weighs 50 to 100 pounds; an adult coyote weighs 25 to 45 pounds.
The height at the shoulder is 27 to 33 inches for wolves and 20 to 22 inches for coyotes.
Wolf tracks are usually 3½ inches or more long; coyote tracks are usually 2¾ inches or less.
A wolf’s snout is blocky; a coyote has a pointed snout.
Wolf ears are rounded; coyote ears are pointed.
You can report a possible wolf sighting online at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/sightings_report.cfm or contact Doug Dufford at the IDNR: 815-369-2414 or doug.dufford@illinois.gov . Be specific about the location and send photos or track castings, if available.