Authorities Confirm Wolf Found Its Way to Grundy County

Caption: DNA tests confirmed that this large wolf-like canine found along a road near Morris, IL, is a female gray wolf. | ShootingTime.com

DNA tests have confirmed that a wolf-like canine found deceased along a Grundy County road north of I-80 in February is in indeed a female gray timberwolf. The wolf was spotted by a father and son near Morris, who at first thought the animal was a large-size coyote, as reported in ShootingTime.com.

Upon closer inspection, they realized that the animal looked more like a wolf than a coyote, so they contacted the Illinois Conservation Police.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has been able to confirm that the animal is a female gray wolf from the Great Lakes population, the Morris Daily Herald reported.

A veterinarian that examined the wolf said that she most likely died from injuries consistent with being hit by a car.

The University of Illinois Extension said there have been 10 confirmed gray wolves found in Illinois since 2000.

The question now is how did the wolf get to Grundy County?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has placed the gray wolf’s current Midwest range near the Wisconsin-Minnesota border, which means that some wolves are migrating as far south as Illinois in search of food.

The Great Lakes gray wolves of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota were relisted under the Endangered Species Act in December 2014.

ShootingTime said there have been claims of other wolf sightings in Illinois, most about 20 miles from Morris, including a possible wolf pack.

An IDNR spokesman said that complete report is expected to come back within the next few weeks that will help determine exactly where the female wolf found dead in Morris came from.

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