Morgan Sherburne
A wolf survey conducted across Northern Lower Michigan resulted in no confirmed sightings of wolves, said Brian Mastenbrook, wildlife supervisor with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Between Feb. 11-March 8, the DNR asked the public to report any sightings or tracks believed to be from a wolf.
The DNR received 62 reports in all. Fourteen of those reports were determined to be either coyote or a dog, and 23 reports were not verified. Another 25 reports came from southern Michigan — Oakland County.
“But that was out of our service area,” said Mastenbrook. “And it’s very unlikely wolves are in southern Michigan.”
The way the DNR has surveyed for wolves in Northern Lower Michigan has evolved, said Mastenbrook. Originally, the DNR surveyed for wolves themselves.
“We found that we just couldn’t sustain that,” said Mastenbrook. “There are only a handful of us up here, and we just can’t do as much as everyone out there looking (for wolves) at the same time.”
In other words, more eyes on the ground might result in more opportunities to spot a wolf. But if there are any in the Northern Lower, they didn’t show their faces or paws for this survey, nor for three years prior.
Mastenbrook would have thought, had there been wolves established in the Northern Lower Peninsula, that those hunting with dogs may have encountered wolves, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
“There might be one or two down here, or five spread out in places, but there’s a lot of country out there,” he said. “If they’re here, they’re good at avoiding people.”
Mastenbrook encourages people to submit wolf sightings by contacting their nearest service center or through a wolf observation report, found at http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/wildlife/pubs/wolf_obsreport.asp.