Earlier this month when news broke that an endangered gray wolf from the northern Rocky Mountains may have made its way all the way to the national forest near Grand Canyon National Park, environmentalists and national park officials questioned the highly unlikely scenario of a lone wolf returning to the park where they were driven to extinction over six decades ago. But new DNA tests, conducted on feces remnants collected by park officials, confirmed on Friday Nov. 21 that the suspect captured in pictures throughout the park since Oct. 30 is indeed a lone wolf - and a female at that.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the female wolf wandered over 450 miles from her home niche in the Rocky Mountains to the Kaibab Plateau of the Grand Canyon, and while there was some disbelief at her existence earlier in the month, the "Grand Canyon Wolf" now has wildlife advocates excited about the introduction of the species back into the area.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman, Jeff Humphrey, discussed the "wolf-like creature" earlier this month confirming that the creature had been photographed roaming the Grand Canyon National Park for three weeks before officials were notified. And he also confirmed that the creature was equipped with, what appeared to be, a tracking collar much like those used in studies by government conservation agencies.
Though potentially thought to have been a wolf-dog hybrid at the time, government officials openly discussed the possibility of it being a gray wolf with conservation advocates and environmental advocates. But the confidential and candid conversation, meant to benefit the wolf by keeping it out of harm's way, was readily leaked to the press. And U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials, were not pleased with the irresponsible claims made by advocates looking to bring attention to the canine in hopes of better "protecting" it.
"Statements like that have no value till we wait a short time to capture and ID it" Jim DeVos, of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, says. "Certainly the presence of a true gray wolf is important. That's why we need to go capture it and take a tissue sample, and that's why we've not made a big deal out of it."
And while the team still has their work cut out ahead of them, as they must continue to work towards capturing the wolf to gain a better understanding of who, and what she is. Preliminary analyses have confirmed that the canine is female and of the wolf variety, though exact species, age and origin will only be feasibly assessed once blood samples have been collected from the wolf.
Conservationists and park officials are just hopeful that the wolf will find the national park a suitable new home, and that perhaps if a mate were to follow, a new pack for the Grand Canyon could be born again - something the area hasn't seen since before the 1940's.
