Biologists warn coyote hunters to watch out for wolves

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State and federal biologists are warning coyote hunters to make sure they don’t shoot a wolf.

The call comes after tests on a large canine shot last year in Troy turned out to be a wolf.

DNA tests show the animal was 100 percent wolf, but it was most likely bred in captivity and somehow released into the wild, either by accident or design.

Wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act and it is illegal to kill them.

Over the last several years there have been a handful of confirmed wolf sightings in the northeast. In 2002 a confirmed wolf was trapped in Quebec not far from the Vermont border.

Michael Amaral of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says hunters who see what looks like a big coyote should check to make sure it’s not a wolf.

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