Three animals resembling gray wolves were recently spotted in Nevada, and if suspicions are confirmed, this would be the first time in more than a century that the endangered species has been seen moving as a group within the state.
Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) officials spotted what appeared to be three wolves together in northeastern Nevada on March 17 while conducting an aerial moose survey, according to the Nevada Current news website. Tracks in the area were consistent with the species, but officials are conducting tests on fur and scat samples to officially identify the animals.
Gray wolves previously thrived in the Western U.S. but were hunted to near extinction about a century ago. Nevada isn’t a prime habitat for the species. However, wolves are known to roam for hundreds of miles, and wolf populations have grown in nearby states, such as Idaho and Oregon. In December, officials in Colorado released five gray wolves to help restore the species in the state. Last November, a pack of gray wolves was believed to be preying on cattle in Southern California.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
“We are doing all we can to gather information regarding this sighting,” NDOW Director Alan Jenne told the Nevada Current. “Nevada is not a historic habitat for wolves, and we’ve had very few confirmed sightings in the state. Wolves are not known to reside in the state of Nevada, but we know that they may occasionally cross state lines for brief periods.”
A lone wolf was seen in Nevada in 2016, but a pack hasn’t been spotted in the state for over a century.
Ashley Zeme, NDOW’s public information officer, told Newsweek that the agency has yet to confirm that the animals are wolves. Test results should be back within a few months.
“At this point, it’s not even a suspected wolf pack since there were only three animals sighted,” Zeme said. “We have sent two DNA samples, a hair sample and a scat sample, to two different labs. We expect to have results in the next few months.
“Until we have confirmation, it’s too soon to speculate where the animals came from and what impacts they would have,” she said.
The species’ potential reemergence is cause for celebration for those who hope to see the species return to the Western region, but many farmers see the predators as a nuisance and a threat to their herds. Wolves are protected in many states, but that isn’t the case in Wyoming. After officials released the wolves in Colorado in December, ranchers threatened to immediately shoot and kill them if they were spotted near their herds in Wyoming.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that less than 4 percent of cattle deaths were caused by wolves. The study examined the thousands of cattle deaths caused by predators in 2010, which represented 5.5 percent of all cattle deaths and triggered a $98.5 million loss.
Wolf-caused deaths were highest in Wisconsin at the time, when wolves accounted for 48 percent of cattle losses by predators. No cases of cattle killed by wolves were documented in Nevada.
Some states, like Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, have an agreement with Colorado to capture and return the wolves to Colorado if they are found across state lines. It’s illegal to kill wolves in those states.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.