Social Network

Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com
Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com

MT: Possible Missoula wolf sighting sparks concern

by Jacqueline Quynh – MTN News

MISSOULA – Was it a labrador or a wolf? That’s the question that some are debating in one neighborhood in Missoula.

State wildlife officials say that the nearest wolf packs around Missoula are about 30 miles away, but a gruesome discover on Friday has some people living in the Pattee Canyon neighborhood wondering if maybe they had a lonely wolf visitor.

Julie Jackson has been living in the Pattee Canyon neighborhood for 20 years – she’s seen a lot of deer around, but none like the dead one she found on Friday morning. She thinks it may have been killed by a wolf.

“One of my neighbors actually saw it, the deer out here this morning and when she called me I just said really? Because she thought she saw a wolf take off from where the deer was lying,” said Jackson.

“It’s just kind of concerning to think that wolves could possibly be you know this close to everybody’s households,” she added.

“They did find some tracks that were pretty small so they were likely dog tracks,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Vivica Crowser.

Crowser told us that FWP game wardens went out to investigate the situation and removed the deer carcass.

“Not to say there couldn’t have been a wolf that passed through, but there was just not anything there for us to verify,” said Crowser.

Che’s warning people not to let their guards down because of the winter like weather, and pointed out that this is an active time for wildlife.

Jackson hopes this is a rare occurrence and potentially not a result of urban deer attracting predators, “maybe it would be nice if there wasn’t so many but I don’t have a solution to that,” said Jackson.

Anyone who sees wolves hanging around in the Missoula area is being asked to contact FWP at (406) 542-5500 or at fwprg22@mt.gov.

 Source