Possible wolf-dog hybrids spotted
Wolves or dogs?
Two wolf-like animals seen on New Year’s Eve eating the remains of a deer killed the day before by a hunter in Duchesne County are believed to have been wolf-dog hybrids.
Gary Riddle of Provo was returning from a duck-hunting trip when he spotted the two animals near the kill site at the Red Creek Junction off Highway 40 near Fruitland.
Pictures shot by Riddle show two wolf-looking animals — one gray and one darker in color — near what appeared to be a kill site about 150 yards off the highway.
Craig McLaughlin, mammals coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, investigated the site and believes the two were likely hybrids.
The two animals did not act as wild wolves would, said McLaughlin.
The site, for example, was close to the roadway. Also, the two were not disturbed when Riddle stopped to shoot photos.
“Only when I got out of the car and started to walk toward them to get a closer shot did they run off,” he said.
Boyde Blackwell, wildlife manager in the Northeastern Region in Vernal, said there has been a large number of wild-living dogs in the vicinity of the site.
McLaughlin said the stride and the prints found in the fresh snow lead him to believe the two were likely a hybrid-wolf mix.
“I did notice that the prints were direct registering — particularly for the larger animal,” McLaughlin said. “Direct registering is the placement of hind feet directly on top of the spots that the front feet are placed, a characteristic of wolves.
“Dogs usually leave a trail that shows hind footprints placed inside the front footprints, closer to the center line. This is a result of dogs having broad chests and wolves possessing narrow chests.”
Riddle estimated that one animal weighed about 120 pounds and the second between 85 and 90 pounds.
There is a special control hunt going on in the area. McLaughlin believes a hunter shot a deer the day before and left behind the skin and entrails, which attracted the two canids.
In 2002, a coyote trapper near Morgan captured an endangered gray wolf that had strayed into Utah from its pack in the Lamar Valley near Yellowstone. It was the first confirmed wolf in the state in more than 50 years.
The wolf was returned to Wyoming.
Currently, Utah is working on a wolf-management program, which would cover the handling of wolves should they eventually move permanently into Utah.