The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc. recently announced that a Maine wolf — the fourth documented in recent history — has been seen on a trail camera. The coalition stated in a prepared release, “Trail camera photos and video collected in spring of this year show an apparent male wolf as it chases an animal, walks up towards the camera and displays a raised leg urination.” It did not specify where in Maine the trail cam was set up.

This wolf was recently spotted on a Maine trail camera, according to the Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc. Courtesy of Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc.

Prior to this sighting, wolves were killed in 1993 and 1996. In 2019, the MWC documented a live Eastern/Algonquin wolf through collection of its scat. The 2019 animal was the first DNA-documented, live wolf in the state.

Since 2019, the MWC has been conducting ongoing wolf research in Maine consisting of the placement of trail cameras and the collection of canid scat and has collected nearly 200 different scats. Most of those are awaiting analysis at Michigan Technological University.

Wolves are legally protected in Maine and the rest of the northeast by the federal Endangered Species Act. The canid mistakenly called a “coyote” has lived in the region for nearly a century. These animals are actually coyote-wolf hybrids or wolves. Hunting and trapping these animals are largely unregulated, which has led to the killing of multiple wolves in the northeast states, the most recent of which occurred in New York in 2021, according to an article published by the Center for Biological Diversity.

The MWC stated it plans to visit the area of the wolf sighting this year to try to collect scat samples and have DNA analyses conducted, which may to determine if the animal is part of a breeding wolf population.

The Maine Wolf Coalition, Inc.’s mission is wolf recovery in Maine through research, education and protection. To see videos of the nonprofit’s trail cam footage, visit youtube.com/@MaineWolfCoalition/videos or the coalition’s Facebook page.