In the winter/spring 2023, trail cameras placed by The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc., captured photos and video of an apparent Maine wolf. (photo courtesy of John M. Glowa Sr.)

Submitted by John M. Glowa Sr.

A fourth apparent wolf has been documented in Maine. Prior to this current animal, wolves were killed in 1993 and 1996. In 2019, The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc. (MWC) documented a live Eastern/Algonquin wolf through collection of its scat. The 2019 animal was the first DNA documented live wolf in the state.

Since 2019, MWC has been conducting ongoing wolf research in Maine consisting of the placement of trail cameras and the collection of canid scat. To date, they have collected nearly 200 different scats. Most of those are awaiting analysis at Michigan Technological University.

Trail camera photos and video collected in Spring of this year show an apparent male wolf as it chases an animal, walks up towards the camera and displays a raised leg urination.

Here are links to MWC’s Youtube and Facebook pages which contain videos of the canid.

Maine Wolf Coalition Youtube page
The Maine Wolf Coalition Facebook page

Wolves are legally protected in Maine and the rest of the northeast by the federal Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, neither the state nor federal governments are attempting to document the status of wolves in the northeast. The canid mistakenly called a “coyote” has lived in the region for nearly a century. These animals are actually coyote/wolf hybrids or wolves and their killing by hunters and trappers is largely unregulated. This has led to the killing of multiple wolves in the northeast states, the most recent of which occurred in New York in 2021.

It is virtually impossible to differentiate wolves from “coyotes” when hunting, especially at night. They plan to return to the area later in the Spring to try to collect scat samples and have DNA analyses conducted which may help to determine if the animal is part of a breeding wolf population.

Wild canids in the northeast desperately need some measure of protection to protect wolves that are attempting to recolonize the region from Canada and the Great Lakes states. The state and federal governments must stop ignoring the law and start administering it.

The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc. is a non-profit 501c3 corporation. Our mission is wolf recovery in Maine through research, education and protection.