Residents in Anchorage, Alaska, have caused a stir after a wolf photo was posted to Facebook. In the photo, the animal can be seen wandering the streets.
While many residents commented on the post, citing their own experiences with the local wolf population, others dismissed the fact that it was a wolf, and they may be right—according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Sadly, just five days after the photos had exploded on social media, the animal was found dead in West Anchorage. She was a female that weighed 67 pounds and was quite old. With all of the speculation as to whether or not the animal was a wolf, there will be an investigation into the matter.
Speculation
Department of Alaska regional officer Cynthia Wardlow has investigated the matter. She speculates that it may not even be a wolf but a canine with a dark coat. If it wasn’t a purebred wolf, speculation points towards a hybrid.
Wardlow commented, “People are very interested in animals in general, and especially if there’s a chance that it’s something unusual that seems to garner even more interest, so it’s not surprising, and certainly makes it very interesting to gather more information about where these animals are spotted.”
Since October, there hasn’t been a follow-up, and speculation about whether or not she was a pureblooded wolf is up in the air.
Hybrids
The first hybrid ever documented was in 1766. The animal was a wolfdog spawned from a wolf and an ancestor of the Pomeranian. The most common breeds that mix with wolves are the Alaskan Malamute.
It’s no surprise that Anchorage could have a number of hybrids roaming its outskirts. Some hybrids have been formally recognized as their breed, like the Saarloos wolfdog, bred with a German Shepherd and European wolf.
This hasn’t been the first report of a wolf-like animal in Anchorage. Seven years before this sighting, there was word of a black wolf spotted near the city. But rumors aren’t always unfounded, and Anchorage has had confirmed sightings of wolves.
Other Sightings
Just a month before the female “wolf” was sighted, trail camera footage captured a wolf in Far North Bicentennial Park, a park and garden with more than one million annual visitors.
The wolf is seen hunting and killing a moose calf in the footage. Despite the footage, wolves normally stay out of sight of visitors and would rather keep it that way, although that doesn’t mean they don’t wander in close proximity to people in Anchorage.
The city has less dense wolf populations than southeast Alaska. However, Anchorage still has five packs roaming the city’s outskirts. A 1995 survey gives more insights into the packs, even if the information is outdated.
Different Packs
At the end of Lake George Glacier, a pack of three wolves was noticed. They were named the Knik River Pack. Unfortunately, because of the region they live in, mortality rates are high.
Tracks of wolves were seen close to the Eklutna River. These tracks were later identified as belonging to the Eklutna Pack, named for their hunting grounds.
The Portage Pack lives around Portage Creek. At the time of the survey, the number was only six, and like their cousins who live at Lake George Glacier, they were in danger of being hunted. A pack seen on Fort Richardson is called The Ship Creek Pack. They hunt there for the wintering Moose population. A fifth pack has also been spotted around Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Base. The group, named The Elmendorf Pack, has learned to tolerate people.
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That mysterious animal spotted in Anchorage? Likely not a wolf, Fish and Game says
