Biologists plan to verify wolf sightings in Idaho

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Department of Fish and Game plans to send a wolf biologist to the Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area to see if wolves are there.

Steve Nadeau, large carnivore coordinator for the department, said there have been reports of wolves in the 78,000-acre management area about 40 miles south of Lewiston.

"It's probably only a matter of time before they show up there," he said. "You have mountain lions up there. It is probably a place wolves will go."

But he said reports of wolves on the edge of Lewiston are probably not accurate.

"That close to town it sounds more like dogs or coyotes or hybrids," he told The Lewiston Tribune.

Some Lewiston residents have said they've seen wolves near town.

Steve Taulbee of Lewiston said he saw one dark and two light colored animals with a spotting scope from his home. He said he talked to others in the area who said they saw three wolves matching that description.

"If they had been coyotes, I don't think I could've seen them," said Horace Fletcher.

Nadeau said it can be hard to tell the difference, and that some coyotes are darker than others.

"When there is not something to judge them against — trees or sagebrush or something — they can appear quite large or surprisingly small," he said. "Every now and then we get reports of black wolves that turn out to be very dark coyotes."

But he also said that young adult wolves search for new territory in fall and early winter. Idaho has about 650 wolves.

"The wolf population is expanding," Nadeau told The Associated Press. "They're showing up in areas where they haven't been seen, in peripheral habitat we would not consider viable. They are finding game, but there is a higher likelihood of conflict with livestock."