CALHOUN COUNTY, MI — Testing of an animal shot and killed in Calhoun County reveals it was a gray wolf, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
A Michigan hunter reported that he harvested a large animal in Calhoun County in January during a legal coyote hunt, according to the DNR, and genetic tests by the agency revealed the animal was a gray wolf.
Michigan’s known wolf population is located in the Upper Peninsula, the DNR said in a Wednesday, April 3, news release.
The department has found only a few signs of wolf presence in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula since Michigan’s wolf population became reestablished in the 1980s, the agency said in a news release.
A hunter, who was engaged in legal coyote hunting and accompanied by a guide, told DNR officials he encountered what was initially believed to be a large coyote, the agency said.
The hunter harvested the wolf, which weighed 84 pounds, the DNR said.
Eastern coyotes typically weigh between 25 pounds and 40 pounds.
Genetic tests on the animal confirmed it was a gray wolf, a species the DNR estimates was not sighted in that part of Michigan since the early part of the 20th century.
Though once present throughout Michigan, wolves are now confined almost exclusively to the Upper Peninsula, the DNR said.
The DNR is investigating the presence of the wolf in Calhoun County. The department does not suspect the animal was part of an established population in southern Michigan, the DNR said.
“The public does not need to be concerned about broader wolf presence in the county or the Lower Peninsula,” the DNR said in a news release.
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is home to more than 600 gray wolves spread across 136 organized packs, according to data reported in 2023.
Data collected on collared wolves in Michigan have shown the animals can travel thousands of miles, officials said, in some cases far beyond their known range.
“This is an unusual case, and the DNR is actively delving into the matter to learn more about this particular animal’s origin,” said Brian Roell, large carnivore specialist for the DNR.
“While rare, instances of wolves traversing vast distances have been documented, including signs of wolves in recent decades in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula,” Roell said.
A taxidermy gray wolf at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge temporary visitor center in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, May 17, 2022. (Garret Ellison | MLive)
The DNR highlighted several previous instances of wolf presence in the northern Lower Peninsula:
- In October 2004, a wolf originally collared in the eastern Upper Peninsula was captured and killed by a coyote trapper in Presque Isle County.
- During winter track surveys in 2011 and 2015, track evidence consistent with wolflike animals was observed in Cheboygan and Emmet counties.
- In 2014, biologists from the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians captured a wolf on a trail camera during an eagle survey. DNA analysis of scat collected at the site confirmed the animal as a wolf.
Winter track surveys in the northern Lower Peninsula in 2019 yielded no evidence of wolves in this part of Michigan, the DNR said. The department is planning another targeted track survey in 2025 with help from residents.
Wolves in Michigan are currently an endangered species by federal court order. Wolves can be killed only if they are a direct and immediate threat to human life, the DNR said.
Livestock owners affected by wolf depredation can receive compensation for their losses.
Related: 4 U.P. wolves taken to Michigan’s Isle Royale, 1 found dead days later
Hunting wolves while they are on the endangered species list is prohibited, the DNR said.
Due to the ongoing investigation, the DNR at this time is not sharing photos of the specific wolf found in Calhoun County.
The DNR did not respond to a question Wednesday inquiring whether the hunter would face any punishment.
A gray wolf is seen in a photo included on the Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife’s website.Gary Kramer, USFWS
For more information on Michigan’s wolf population, visit Michigan.gov/Wolves.
Read more:
Donkeys guard livestock in battle with gray wolves
Collared wolf from Michigan’s U.P. roamed thousands of miles before it was killed
Hunting still an option in Michigan’s updated gray wolf plan if species de-listed again
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