Possible Gray Wolf??

[Bruce Hudson]

Sunday after I was finishing a 50 mile section coming into Parisburg, VA when a young fawn darted across the trail. I momentarily chuckled to myself thinking this guy won't live long heading straight for the humans thinking I had spooked him from his hiding place. But maybe 15 to 20 yards back came what I have to believe was a gray wolf. This guy had a massive head and shoulders. The fawn never altered course running right past me. The would-be wolf hesitated slightly, slowed slightly for maybe two strides and altered course away from me by at most 15 degrees and kept after the fawn.

So what are the chances-- possible gray wolf in VA above I-81??

Bruce

[pixel]

i can't answer that ... but once some friends and i went camping at natural chimneys in Viriginia. the next day we drove this LONG winding dirt road to a place called Reddish Knob. i was the only one who saw it, but a lynx leaped onto and across the road. it was awesome! i never even knew they were in that area. i hope you did see a gray wolf and someone can confirm the reality that they exist there. ha,ha,ha... for me ... no one else saw it, so they all just kind of politely say, "cool!" although i think they question whether or not i REALLY saw what i think i saw.

[Lone Wolf]

Sunday after I was finishing a 50 mile section coming into Parisburg, VA when a young fawn darted across the trail. I momentarily chuckled to myself thinking this guy won't live long heading straight for the humans thinking I had spooked him from his hiding place. But maybe 15 to 20 yards back came what I have to believe was a gray wolf. This guy had a massive head and shoulders. The fawn never altered course running right past me. The would-be wolf hesitated slightly, slowed slightly for maybe two strides and altered course away from me by at most 15 degrees and kept after the fawn.

So what are the chances-- possible gray wolf in VA above I-81??

Bruce

extremely unlikely

[Tinker]

I've seen coyote in my state in the neighborhood of 75 lbs. Could it have been a large coyote?

[Bruce Hudson]

That clearly makes move sense. I've of course never seen a coyote in the wild, but I definitely think of them as smaller and somehow less healthy. This guy was massive about the head and chest and clearly healthy and strong. Oh well, it was a great sight regardless.

[Sierra Echo]

I was hiking at Amicalola State Park a few weeks ago when I saw what I believed to be an ostrich in the woods. I happened to mention it to the manager of the Len Foote Hike Inn and he told me that there is a man in the area who owns an ostrich farm and sometimes they get out. LOL I thought I was getting even crazier!

[Danielsen]

Eastern Coyotes have recently been discovered to be hybridized between smaller pure-coyote ancestors and the gray wolf. With the wolf's ecological niche vacated, they've been growing larger and more wolf-like in their feeding habits and pack dynamics. What you saw was probably a big eastern coyote, as they are known to take even adult deer and I imagine Virginia's wilderness is probably good habitat for them.

[gumball]

Eastern Coyotes have recently been discovered to be hybridized between smaller pure-coyote ancestors and the gray wolf. With the wolf's ecological niche vacated, they've been growing larger and more wolf-like in their feeding habits and pack dynamics. What you saw was probably a big eastern coyote, as they are known to take even adult deer and I imagine Virginia's wilderness is probably good habitat for them.

Indeed--the "coywolf", I believe they call it.

[Marta]

I believe there are also "coydogs." What you saw might have been one of those, with the dog part being a large breed.

[TOW]

Sunday after I was finishing a 50 mile section coming into Parisburg, VA when a young fawn darted across the trail. I momentarily chuckled to myself thinking this guy won't live long heading straight for the humans thinking I had spooked him from his hiding place. But maybe 15 to 20 yards back came what I have to believe was a gray wolf. This guy had a massive head and shoulders. The fawn never altered course running right past me. The would-be wolf hesitated slightly, slowed slightly for maybe two strides and altered course away from me by at most 15 degrees and kept after the fawn.

So what are the chances-- possible gray wolf in VA above I-81??

Bruce

i doubt it, maybe a husky turned out into the wild or a malamute.............

[Adayak]

Maybe you saw one of those chupacabras they recently killed out in Texas ? :-)

[Spogatz]

I was hiking at Amicalola State Park a few weeks ago when I saw what I believed to be an ostrich in the woods. I happened to mention it to the manager of the Len Foote Hike Inn and he told me that there is a man in the area who owns an ostrich farm and sometimes they get out. LOL I thought I was getting even crazier!

That was no ostrich....it was a really big quail......lol

[cwinkle]

I remember reading about some gray wolf escapes from a zoo on Bays Mountain in Tennessee during the heavy snowfall in March. Maybe one of them has made its way up into VA.

[Many Walks]

Not sure what was doing the chasing, but the fawn was probably hoping it would peel off and eat you instead.

[Country Roads]

My brother shot a coyote a while back (yes, it was legal). It was probably 20 pounds heavier than a western coyote, I was mostly tannish color, but it did have a lot of gray on its body too. I have heard coyotes many times in our local wilderness areas and in the rural area I live in. It is kinda neat to hear the "call of the wild". It does make you remember that you are not at the top of the food chain.

[Grampie]

There is an article in the Aug. 2010 issue of National Geographic titled, New Beasts in the East.
It explains how coyotes and wolves have cross mated and produced coywolves. These hybrids are found through the east as far south as Virginia.

[Grampie]

There is an article in the Aug. 2010 issue of National Geographic titled, New Beasts in the East.
It explains how coyotes and wolves have cross mated and produced coywolves. These hybrids are found through the east as far south as Virginia.

Another article in July-Aug issue of AT Journeys.

[Knocky]

probably not a gray wolf, but there have been some red wolves re introduced into parts of NC and other areas in the East.
Best bet is that what you saw though, was a large Coyote.

[Tin Man]

I believe there are also "coydogs." What you saw might have been one of those, with the dog part being a large breed.

Coydogs are quite common in the woods in CT. I have heard them along the AT in NY, CT, MA and behind my house on a regular basis. Most know better than to cry wolf.

[kizzybean]

There isn't really a coyote / dog cross called a coydog. It is an Eastern coyote. With recent genetic testing the Eastern Coyote is actually a cross between a Eastern wolf and coyote. They are larger in size and bone than what you are visualizing as a coyote. With a variety of coat patterns and larger size people mistakenly think it's a dog cross. The AT magazine has a very good article about them. Consider yourself lucky to have seen one on the trail. You're more likely to see one in a suburan area where there is a lot of small game to feed on & non-hunting areas. They are extremely adaptable to their environment. The size of their litters (# of pups) they have directly corresponds with the food supply for their area. Although they can be a problem for farmers and neighborhood pets they are an extremely interesting animal that have adapted to urban sprawl and depleted woodlands.