An animal photographed at the Grand Canyon's North Rim last week could be an endangered gray wolf, which would make it the first wolf known to be in Grand Canyon National Park since the 1940s.
As The Arizona Republic reports, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is examining photos of the animal to determine whether it is a wolf. A Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman told Reuters the FWS would also attempt to capture the animal.
The animal is wearing what appears to be an inactive tracking collar. Conservation groups say the animal appears to be a Rocky Mountain gray wolf, which would indicate it migrated south from the Rocky Mountains, and not a Mexican gray wolf, which has been reintroduced farther south in Arizona.
It's possible the animal could be a wolf-dog hybrid. A Grand Canyon park ranger said one such dog was reported lost on the North Rim this summer, but it was not believed to have been wearing a tracking collar.
Any wolf in the area would be protected under the Endangered Species Act. Gray wolves were hunted to near-extinction in the 1900s and are now the focus of federal management plans.
Photo: This animal, possibly a gray wolf, was photographed October 27 on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. | Courtesy of Arizona Game and Fish Department