A hunter shot and killed an endangered Rocky Mountain gray wolf in Southern Utah over the weekend, and environmentalists said it's likely the wolf was the same animal spotted on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon last month.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources says the hunter claimed to have mistaken the 3-year-old female wolf, which was wearing a tracking collar, for a coyote. The hunter contacted the DWR, which reported the animal's killing to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The wolf was collared near Cody, Wyoming, in January, the service said.
The wolf was shot Sunday near Beaver, Utah, some 200 miles north of the Grand Canyon.
When the wolf was spotted at the North Rim in November, the Center for Biological Diversity hailed the sighting as proof that wolf-reintroduction efforts in the West are succeeding. In a statement, the center's Michael Robinson called the shooting "heartbreaking."
"This female wolf could have helped wolves naturally recover in remote regions of Utah and neighboring states," Robinson said. "Federal authorities need to conduct a full investigation into this latest killing, which is part of a disturbing pattern.”
The center also reiterated its support for keeping gray wolves on the federal endangered-species list.
(Photo: The wolf spotted on the North Rim last month. | Courtesy of Arizona Game and Fish Department)