Hunter shot and harvested a wolf during last-year during New York’s coyote season, DEC says

OTSEGO COUNTY- An animal taken during the 2021 coyote hunting season in Cherry Valley is now officially confirmed to have been a wolf, according to the New York State DEC.

A DNA test sample just returned last week and allowed for a final determination for biologists to conclude the animal was a wolf. The DEC says this is the third confirmed wolf identified in the wild in New York in the past 25 years.

Wolves are, and continue to be, protected in New York State as an endangered species.

At this time, the origin of this Otsego animal is unknown. DNA tests indicate the animal is most likely from the Great Lakes population of wolves, which currently have no established populations in any adjacent state and no known wolves closer than Michigan.

It is unknown if this animal was a wild animal that moved into New York or if this was a captive-bred animal that was released or escaped. Captive wolves released into the wild in New York have been documented in the past, the DEC clarified.

Image courtesy via the DNR.