Caught having a wolf, i didnt know it was one!

[oldpumpkin]

I live in the Michigan, one day in the woods on my property, what i thought was a dog approached me, it had a strange collar with a small box on it and it looked starved and frail but looked usually big compared to other dogs, it was not even aggressive at all, i know it wanted help, so i took him inside my house, removed the weird collar then i fed it some water and dog food, within 4 weeks the animal looked backed to normal and healthy. the animal actually enjoyed being around me and never once was aggressive. but yesterday the DNR had showed at my house and asked me if i seen a wolf with around my property. i said no, i only found a dog with a strange collar on it. then i showed them the dog and the collar i removed then they suddenly got mad, they ended up seizing the animal and claimed it was a wolf. we had a long annoying talk and the dnr officer said i might be looking at felony charges and they might come back.

i dont know what to do! i was honestly trying to help the animal, i really thought it was a dog.

what should i do now?

 

[Redemptionman1]

If it is a wild animal then they will probably put it down as it should not be approaching people. I would contact a general practice attorney in your area, and let him know that if they contacted me again I would put them in touch with them. If they truly want to charge you with something they will have to serve you with a complaint.

I would imagine the weird box is a transponder locator and that they have them tagged for whatever reason.

 

[oldpumpkin]

If it is a wild animal then they will probably put it down as it should not be approaching people. I would contact a general practice attorney in your area, and let him know that if they contacted me again I would put them in touch with them. If they truly want to charge you with something they will have to serve you with a complaint.

I would imagine the weird box is a transponder locator and that they have them tagged for whatever reason.

thats sad, it dont make sense to put the wolf down, it just wanted help. why is wrong to help it?

 

[Redemptionman1]

Unfortantely in society today you really can't help people out due to liability. If they don't put it down then it could come up to anyone else that it associates with food. You feeding it makes it feel that people equal food and it could eventually attack someone at any given notice. Just because it seems tame does not make it so. A wild animal is always a wild animal.

 

[Just Blue]

thats sad, it dont make sense to put the wolf down, it just wanted help. why is wrong to help it?

Are you serious? You can't see the danger of feeding a wild animal? How old are you? I ask because if you are very, very young I could understand why you might not know why what you did is wrong...not only for the animal but for the humans in your area.

 

[quincy]

I live in the Michigan, one day in the woods on my property, what i thought was a dog approached me, it had a strange collar with a small box on it and it looked starved and frail but looked usually big compared to other dogs, it was not even aggressive at all, i know it wanted help, so i took him inside my house, removed the weird collar then i fed it some water and dog food, within 4 weeks the animal looked backed to normal and healthy. the animal actually enjoyed being around me and never once was aggressive. but yesterday the DNR had showed at my house and asked me if i seen a wolf with around my property. i said no, i only found a dog with a strange collar on it. then i showed them the dog and the collar i removed then they suddenly got mad, they ended up seizing the animal and claimed it was a wolf. we had a long annoying talk and the dnr officer said i might be looking at felony charges and they might come back.

i dont know what to do! i was honestly trying to help the animal, i really thought it was a dog.

what should i do now?

I believe gray wolves are still on the federal endangered species list, although the wolves were removed from the State’s threatened and endangered lists about six years ago. The population of wolves in Michigan is now considered by the Michigan DNR to be at a healthy size. It had been as low as 6 wolves, due in large part to hunters.

The wolf population in Michigan has been tracked for several years, with the latest research study conducted early last year. The wolf you found apparently was one fitted with a tracking collar for the study, so the State could monitor its movement and determine its population in the lower counties.

I doubt the DNR will return, as long as you did not harm the wolf. You actually were quite lucky that the wolf did not hurt you.

If you are ticketed or charged, you can consult with an attorney in your area to see if the ticket can be dismissed or to work on a defense. You probably have nothing to worry about.

 

[stealth2]

thats sad, it dont make sense to put the wolf down, it just wanted help. why is wrong to help it?

What's sad is when people don't understand that their actions have consequences. Feeding wild animals, especially predatory animals, makes them dependent on being provided food by humans. Why do you think wildlife areas have signs not to feed the animals and require that foodstuffs be locked in boxes, cars, etc.? And once they become dependent on humans? They can become a danger, because they don't understand the difference between "oldpumpkin dude who gave me dogfood (*) and small lady person who isn't feeding me..."

(*) Dog food is not a balanced diet for a wild animal, btw.

BEST case for the wolf is that s/he will be relocated to a remote area. Otherwise, you signed the death warrant.

Honestly? If you are old enough to live alone in a rural area, you should be old enough to make yourself aware of wildlife regulations. As well as old enough to behave as a responsible shepherd to the wildlife around you. As well as understand that when a wild animal (especially a predator) approaches you, it may very well be ill and could be dangerous.

I can understand wanting to help, and would likely put out a bowl of food/water. But then I would also get straight on the phone to local authorities. Even if it WAS a dog, did it not occur to you that it might belong to someone and has been wandering, lost?

 

[Zigner]

I'd be willing to bet that tracking collars are fairly well labeled.

 

[stealth2]

I'd be willing to bet that tracking collars are fairly well labeled.

Ya think?

 

[stealth2]

And oh boy... just read the px/hx.

 

[commentator]

Wild animals eventually starve or die in the wild somehow, even if it's old age. Perhaps you got hold of a wolf that was very close to its last roundup, and therefore wasn't aggressive. Or perhaps it was very diseased. From my experience with animals of this type, they do not do very well eating human food, you may have hastened his eminent demise. But I would suspect you won't be troubled again by the DNR.

 

[stealth2]

Wild animals eventually starve or die in the wild somehow, even if it's old age. Perhaps you got hold of a wolf that was very close to its last roundup, and therefore wasn't aggressive. Or perhaps it was very diseased. From my experience with animals of this type, they do not do very well eating human food, you may have hastened his eminent demise. But I would suspect you won't be troubled again by the DNR.

Except, possibly, for the destruction of the tracking collar.

 

[quincy]

Following is more information on the status of the gray wolf in Michigan, which Trump proposed removing from the endangered species list (because of course he did), and its removal could become effective later this month. There are challenges to the wolf removal from the list that must be heard first.

https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=A00D

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-11-03/pdf/2020-24171.pdf#page=1


https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/gray-wolves-now-endangered-list-may-be-targeted-michigan-farmers

There still would be no hunting of the wolf in Michigan with this removal.

The penalty for poaching wolves is up to 90 days in jail and/or a $1000 fine.

 

[zddoodah]

what should i do now?

Go about your daily life as if this never happened. The chances that anything will ever come of this are pretty slim and, if something does happen, you can take appropriate action then. It's not like you need to do anything to prepare yourself.

 

[quincy]

oldpumpkin will want an attorney IF he is charged. He could search for an attorney now, just in case.