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Think i saw a wolf yesterday in DSM

Cyforce

Cyforce

Well-Known Member
Nov 24, 2009
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Des Moines
I was on Maury yesterday heading east from e 14th and before I got to the RR tracks I saw a creature cross the road maybe 100 feet ahead of me. It walked with that slinky fox like slither. It had a brown calico coat. Making me think it was a coyote. After getting about 30 feet off the road it stopped and turned back and stared at the traffic. I noticed it had board shoulders making me think wolf not coyote. Are they common in central Iowa. I know we have mountain lion sightings on a regular basis.
 
I’ve seen some extremely healthy coyotes this year while harvesting. Not sure why but they look bigger and healthier than normal.
 
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Cyforce said:
I was on Maury yesterday heading east from e 14th and before I got to the RR tracks I saw a creature cross the road maybe 100 feet ahead of me. It walked with that slinky fox like slither. It had a brown calico coat. Making me think it was a coyote. After getting about 30 feet off the road it stopped and turned back and stared at the traffic. I noticed it had board shoulders making me think wolf not coyote. Are they common in central Iowa. I know we have mountain lion sightings on a regular basis.
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No, they are extremely rare in Iowa and if they are in the state they are wandering from another state. I also wouldn't call mountain lion sightings in Iowa common. In the last 26 years there have been 8 verified sightings, 10 pictures and 1 video. There were also verified tracks and actual lions shot and hit by cars. Take the numbers for what they are worth because different sightings /pictures could be from the same animal.

https://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/education/visitors/mtn_lion_status.pdf
 
Cyforce said:
I was on Maury yesterday heading east from e 14th and before I got to the RR tracks I saw a creature cross the road maybe 100 feet ahead of me. It walked with that slinky fox like slither. It had a brown calico coat. Making me think it was a coyote. After getting about 30 feet off the road it stopped and turned back and stared at the traffic. I noticed it had board shoulders making me think wolf not coyote. Are they common in central Iowa. I know we have mountain lion sightings on a regular basis.
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Just curious have you seen a confirmed wolf before? I’ve seen bigger coyotes that I thought were really big and may have been a wolf, until I saw a wild wolf. They are huge.
 
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FarmClone said:
Just curious have you seen a confirmed wolf before? I’ve seen bigger coyotes that I thought were really big and may have been a wolf, until I saw a wild wolf. They are huge.
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I have in Colorado and at Zoos. I'm thinking more likely coyote now that farminclone said they are big this year. The only thing that made me think wolf was how board the shoulders were. We have a Shepard mix that's about 85 pounds. The animal was slightly smaller then him but everybit as wide..
 
Cyforce said:
I have in Colorado and at Zoos. I'm thinking more likely coyote now that farminclone said they are big this year. The only thing that made me think wolf was how board the shoulders were. We have a Shepard mix that's about 85 pounds. The animal was slightly smaller then him but everybit as wide..
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They are big this year and healthy. I have read before that during dry years prey populations tend to congregate really tight to water sources so maybe they are just having a heyday this year. How big was the head and what color was it?
 
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FarmClone said:
They are big this year and healthy. I have read before that during dry years prey populations tend to congregate really tight to water sources so maybe they are just having a heyday this year. How big was the head and what color was it?
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Head was bigger than my German Shepard, coat was a multi brown calico.

That area is about a mile north of the river and smells like death. Rendering plant.
 
Though unlikely a lone wolf might wander, especially when the population is high and when there is a major disruption (like the insane WI wolf hunt here which disrupted many clans).

BUT! Wolves like woods and not open or scattered tree cover. A wolf is very large and typically half again as big as a big coyote (though some are close in size). The eyes on a wolf look small for its head and have a broad snout. A Coyote often has yellowish eyes and yellow/buff fur patches. A wolf is grayish with cleaner white, in my experience, along with that a coyote has a narrow, pointy snout and slighter nose.

More: https://northamericannature.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-coyote-and-a-wolf/

My house is not too distant from a (former) pack and we once heard a wolf howl! In Iowa, I saw a moose swimming in the Des Moines River back in the '80s! Most Puma, bears, or other wanders are quickly taken out in Iowa. One wild animal is way too dangerous. Hawk fans are allowed free roam though.
 
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From the location I saw it I'd say it followed the RR tracks into town that head out east south of Pleasant Hill and was circling back to the river.
 
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