GAME COMMISSION SEEKS INFORMATION ABOUT ILLEGAL RELEASE OF WOLVES IN ADAMS COUNTY
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Game Commission officials today announced that they are seeking information about the person or persons who may have illegally released a pair of gray or timber wolves or wolf-hybrids that have appeared in Straban Township, Adams County, in recent days. Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer (WCO) Darren David is investigating, and any information should be provided to the Southcentral Region Office at 814-643-1831.
According to WCO David's investigation, on Feb. 19, an individual shot one of the wolves. After killing the animal, the individual contacted the Game Commission Southcentral Region Office and turned over the carcass to officers.
"The animal is a male and appears to be around 120 pounds, and was not neutered or collared," David said. "We are going to have it examined and tested to verify whether this is a pure-bred animal and to see if there are any indications about where the animal originated."
WCO David also received reports that a pet collie in the area was attacked on Feb. 16, and injured by repeated bites, which is indicative of an attack by another canine, and possibly one of these wolves. The dog later died at a veterinarian's office from its injuries.
"Anyone who sees the remaining wolf should keep his or her distance from it and contact the Southcentral Region Office at 814-643-1831," WCO David said. "Specific details will be very helpful in determining its possible location."
Mike Dubaich, Game Commission Bureau of Law Enforcement director, noted that there are 35 licensed facilities that are permitted to either possess, breed and/or sell wolves and wolf-hybrids in Pennsylvania, and as part of their permit, must comply with township, caging, public safety and record-keeping requirements. However, he also noted that there are other states with far fewer restrictions or oversight on the sale or possession of exotic wildlife, including wolves and wolf-hybrids.
Agency officials note that this is not the first time an illegally released wolf has been found in the wilds of Pennsylvania. In 1999 and 2003, two different individuals in the Allegheny National Forest and Susquehanna County, respectively, killed wolves or wolf-hybrids that later were determined to have been surgically neutered, demonstrating that these two animals were once held in captivity.
Also, in 2004, two Pennsylvanians, one in Chambersburg and another in Philadelphia, pled guilty to illegally possessing wolves or wolf-hybrids.
Game Commission officials also noted that wolves are not the only exotic or non-indigenous animals to have been possessed illegally in the state. For example, in 2002, a Dauphin County resident was prosecuted for illegal possession of a cougar. A binturong, a native of Southeast Asia that also is known as a bearcat, was found on a Beaver County family's porch in 2002. The animal's owner later pled guilty to charges of illegal possession of wildlife.
In 2001, news reports detailed sightings of an African serval, resembling a small cheetah, which had been possessed illegally and escaped from its Pittsburgh owner several times before being confiscated. Two wallabies escaped from their owners in Ambler in 2001. Also, there have been alligators in Italian Lake in Harrisburg, emus in Clearfield and Dauphin counties and piranhas in various rivers, ponds and streams in the Commonwealth.
Following decades of bounties, the last known Pennsylvania wolf is believed to have been killed in the 1890s. The nearest state or provinces to Pennsylvania with a wild sustainable gray or timber wolf population are Michigan, and Ontario and Quebec, Canada. No state in the northeastern United States has a wild sustainable wolf population. A small red wolf population is known to exist in North Carolina. While the federal government has conducted wolf reintroduction programs in several Western states, there has been no such proposal for Pennsylvania.
"Game Commission policy requires proposed species reintroductions to be appropriate and feasible," said Calvin W. DuBrock, Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Management director. "We believe that any reintroduction program involving wolves or other large predators would be impractical and inappropriate given the population distribution and density of people in our state. We do not believe that there are any areas remote enough in our state where large predators could be reintroduced without setting up a conflict situation for people or other wildlife valued by people."
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Content Last Modified on 2/23/2006 3:52:15 PM
