By John Hollenhorst
DIAMOND FORK CANYON, Wasatch County — For months, wildlife experts have been trying to figure out if a wolf pack is on the prowl in the mountains southeast of Provo. One biologist has taken an interesting approach: she’s trying to talk to the wolves.
Early in the morning, Kim Hersey drives up Diamond Fork Canyon in Wasatch County, stopping here and there. With the crescent Moon hanging in the sky, she lets loose with a haunting, pre-recorded wail.
“(It’s) just sort of saying, ‘I’m here. This is my territory. Is anybody else out there?'” explained Hersey, a biologist with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
This all began when people started seeing and hearing things in these mountains. When wildlife workers saw several big, dog-like animals up close from the air, the search for a wolf pack began in earnest.
“I was playing the tape in about this area,” she said, stopping at a specific point in the canyon, “and I did receive a response that was consistent with a wolf howl.”
It would be the first confirmed wolf pack in Utah since they were exterminated nearly a century ago.
“There’s definitely a larger carnivore out there — a dog of some sort,” Hersey said.
Since last fall, there have been five credible wolf sightings in the area, and lots of paw prints have been found. DWR officials know something is out there, they just don’t know what.
A few weeks ago, Hersey spotted one of those “whatever-it-is” canines running from the road off into the bushes. “After a little while (of) howling at it, I was able to get a howl response from the animal,” she said.
But she didn’t get a good enough look to tell what it was. “Not a coyote,” Hersey said. “When I saw it I thought, ‘Wolf!'”
The DWR puts out road kill as a tasty treat, with motion-detector cameras standing by. So far, they’ve turned up nothing.
“If they are wolves, they are fully protected by the Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act in this area of the state,” Hersey said.
But if the animals are found to be wolf-dog hybrids, Hersey say’s they’ll be “removed,” meaning killed. So a scientific question is a life and death matter for the canines.
If you see or hear what you think may be a wolf in that area, the DWR would like to know about it. You can reach the Springville office at 801-491-5678.
What is a wolf-dog hybrid?
A wolf-dog hybrid is a cross between a wolf and a domesticated dog. Wolf-dog hybrids are often mistaken for wolves. There are more than 300,000 of these hybrids in the United States.
If the DNA testing confirms that the animals are wolf-dog hybrids, the DWR will remove them.
Source: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources