
Wolf (Canis lupus) – captive. Larry Master photo
WOLF DNA: Our reporter Mike Lynch has been tracking the ongoing controversy around a canid that was killed by a Mohawk Valley hunter. While that particular animal was outside the Blue Line, it’s believed to be an indicator that wolves could be returning to northern New York. And now, groups are calling on the state to do more to foster a safe return of wolves/wolf hybrids. Peter Bauer has this commentary in the Almanack. And this week, a second outside DNA test confirmed the animal was indeed a wolf, and the DEC has agreed with the findings.
My question for you: Should NYS play an active role in facilitating wolves’ population being able to re-establish itself?
Photo: Wolf (Canis lupus) – captive. Larry Master photo
NYSDEC Reverses Course, Now Calls The Cooperstown Wolf A Wolf
On September 21, 2022, after a second independent DNA study confirmed that the wolf killed outside of Cooperstown, New York, was really a wolf, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) reversed course and announced that the wolf was indeed a wolf. DEC had been calling the Cooperstown wolf a coyote since it examined the dead animal in December 2021 and conducted a DNA study in early 2022. DEC publicly called the wolf a coyote in July in many news reports, after the release of an independent DNA study by Trent University in Canada, organized by the Northeast Ecological Recovery Society (NERS). The Trent University DNA analysis found that the Cooperstown wolf had 98% wolf genes.
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