I hold a lifetime hunting and fishing license in Maine & have fed myself and enjoyed these sports for over 50 years. I’ll be out early tomorrow, the first day of regular deer season, to hopefully harvest the nice buck I’ve seen hanging around. I’m a meat eater and wild game is my ultimate ‘organic food’. I respect the folks who don’t hunt, eat meat, or are flat out ‘anti-hunting’. We are working together with a common goal: The State of Maine properly studying, acknowledging and protecting wolves in Maine. -Ken Smith
Disturbing Video
Coyote trapping season in Maine is October 29, 2023 - December 31, 2023. On October 24, we documented a possible eastern wolf, obviously in distress, dragging an improperly deployed snare set behind it. It’s illegal to kill a wolf or wolf-hybrid in Maine.
Right around 4 1/2 hours later, at 5:48am the same morning, we captured a different canid running across the field of view of a nearby camera, with pups yipping and some adult howls.
Wolves in Maine have been studied & documented for decades. The state would have you believe it’s a non-issue. If you follow us, you already know that we have documented hundreds of videos, pixel measurements, tracks, scat & howling. All of this evidence, along with professional opinion, has been submitted this year to Maine IFW. It was a calculated risk publishing the general location of this pack - and all activity, human or otherwise, is carefully monitored and recorded.
What The State of Maine Says about Wolves…
“Large coyotes (50+ pounds) have been reported in Maine, but they are uncommon. Any canid 50 pounds or greater may be a wolf, wolf-hybrid, or domestic dog. Maine law protects all wildlife from hunting or trapping when there is not a specific hunting or trapping season for the species. It is also illegal to indiscriminately shoot domestic dogs or wolf-hybrids… If you suspect you have a canine in a trap that is over 4.5 ft. in length (tip of nose to tip of tail) and is over 50 pounds, contact MDIFW before dispatching the animal.”
On Sept 5 of this year, Shevenell Webb/Maine IFW told us: “Unfortunately, there is nothing definitive from a video or photo that can differentiate eastern coyote from eastern wolf.” We wholeheartedly agree, as do professional wildlife experts, and even the Canadian government. So we measure. And DNA is collected.
And some federal law:
Federal law specifies: “Whenever a species which is not Endangered or Threatened closely resembles an Endangered or Threatened species, such species may be treated as either Endangered or Threatened if the director makes such determination in accordance with section 4(e) of the Act and the criteria of paragraph (b) of this section.”
We Rely on Top Experts
Dr. Jonathan Way, a leading expert on New England’s wild canids (who literally wrote the book on eastern coyotes) said: “I’ve been working with Ken for around a year now and I’m familiar with the canids he’s documenting on his property in Mount Chase. Some of the animals he’s seeing appear more like eastern wolves than the typical eastern coyote/coywolf, which already has a hybrid background. He has collected several DNA samples that we will DNA test within the next year. It is my professional opinion that there are eastern wolves (Canis lycaon) in Maine given the larger body size of many of the animals that we have observed and measured on our trail cameras in the northern half of the state. More study, especially the proper DNA analysis, is imperative to document how these canids interact with the more common coywolf (eastern coyote).”
We are also
working to submit samples and information to DNA experts as they aim to gather more genetic data to help everyone understand the genetics of canids in the northeast.
Maine IFW
It sure seems like we’re beating a dead horse when it comes to talking to, or about, these folks. To be fair, many of them are hard working and talented people who have hunters and trappers best interests in mind. However - despite our, and many other’s best repeated efforts to present evidence and professional opinions to them, we’ve yet to see any measurable study or action regarding wolves in Maine. Shevenell Webb is responsible for “wolf sightings”, and generates related reports for Maine IFW. She is at: ‘Shevenell.Webb@maine.gov’
Over 200 genetic samples have been collected from Maine’s canids for DNA analysis from all over the state. The dedication and hard work of The Maine Wolf Coalition is to thank for this body of work. A few of the samples in this collection we contributed.
Recently we sent a letter to Wolfden Resources, who want to construct a massive heavy metal mine only a few miles north of the animals we are documenting, stating that if they want to disturb this forest, they should fund the wolf studies first. And they should. The ultimate responsibility however rests on the shoulders of the State of Maine. We will soon be drafting a letter to Maine IFW demanding that they fund the DNA study of these 200+ genetic samples. The cost will likely be around $14,000 or more.
So…
Because leading experts believe that eastern wolves are potentially living and breeding in Maine, and Maine IFW has acknowledged this possibility, and IFW is aware of the exhaustive studies that have been done and the hundreds of DNA samples just waiting on funding to be analyzed, and IFW has stated that they are looking forward to the DNA results…
And…
The animals in question are being killed as coyotes with IFW’s knowledge and support, and killing a wolf or a wolf-hybrid in Maine is in violation of law, and eastern wolves are acknowledged and protected in Canada just one paved road and 80 miles of uninhabited forest away from this particular pack, we respectfully ask:
Maine IFW, Please fund this DNA study.
You know exactly who to contact to make the arrangements.
Maine State Representative Lynn Williams, PhD, may have summed it up best when she told us "wolves will not be helped until there is new leadership at IFW."
Another recent article about wolves in Maine: https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/10/19/outdoors/your-stories-seeing-wolves-mountain-lions-maine-joam40zk0w/