Red Wolves? Really? *UPDATE* Now its black coyotes! pg. 5

[Chikn-Chik]

The past couple of days I have found unusual wolf like footprints near my chickens and geese. I have done research and ruled out the number one predator here, coyotes. There is no way a coyote's foot can be this big! The wildlife agencies have released red wolves near here, and they say that there is a stock of about 250 running wild now. Here are some pictures.

These are the first ones I saw. They was headed away from the chicken pen. And dogs are ruled out here also, their hind foot doesn't step inside the front track. Only coyotes and wolves do this.

Here they are compared next to a tire track

This was taken a day later, the ground had dried some

This is the second ones. They was headed out of the barn where I keep my geese.

I measured it. 4 inches long, 3 inches wide.

I have also heard howling, not the usual yipping of coyotes. Any ideas on what you think it is? Could it be a monstrous coyote?

 

[fishman65]

get a game camera and know what it is that is stalking your pets, then call game and fish warden and see what your options are to protect your pets. Use everything in your powers to chase away these potential pet killers.

 

[Chikn-Chik]

I have a camera set up, but its way up on the mountain. And the only thing that it takes pictures of is, coons, foxes, possums, deer, and the occasional bobcat.

 

[bairo]

Not a coyote. Way too big. That is def. wolf tracks at 4 inches and above. A big male is about 4.5 inches in length

 

[erinszoo]

That's wolf. I would call fish and game and let them know, not that they'll do anything probably, but they may be tracking them if they were recently released. Red wolves have been on the endangered species list for quite some time and releases aren't that common into the wild. It's probably a 200+ lb animal which would make it a male or an extremely large or pregnant female. They are more solitary hunters, kind of like coyotes, rather than big pack hunters like grey wolves. Hope your birds stay safe!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

It's probably a 200+ lb animal which would make it a male or an extremely large or pregnant female.

I doubt it's a wolf at all, and it's highly unlikely it weighs 200 lbs.

A large Red Wolf is normally less than 100 lbs

My 100 lb Maremmas have feet that large.

Those are just tracks from a large dog​

 

[chickened]

Wolf tracks are elongated not round like a domestic dog. A wolf would most likely have killed something after coming that close to food.

 

[bairo]

Quote:
I doubt it's a wolf at all, and it's highly unlikely it weighs 200 lbs.

A large Red Wolf is normally less than 100 lbs

My 100 lb Maremmas have feet that large.

Those are just tracks from a large dog

look closely at the dif in size of front paw versus rear paw. That is not a dog, lol fronts are much larger.
If reds are around there then that is a 70-80 lb male. People have great misconceptions about wolves....they are much less likely to attack chickens immediately than a coyote or fox. They are also smarter though.Those tracks are from the scout. They now know where food is if they do get hungry. Red wolves also dont have large pack sizes and is usually mom,dad, and a couple offspring.
Edited... you are dead center of the largest release of red wolf in this area also. They never took a good hold though at the elevation they were released at and headed down the mountain a bit

 

[bairo]

have the men of the house (over 15 yo) urinate around the area of the tracks and the chicken run. Try not to laugh too hard

 

[harveyhorses]

Quote:
I don't laugh but it does not work. I don't think ANY real predator considers humans a threat. Maybe get a LGD to do the job.