14 DAY TRIAL // A bungling Iowa hunter killed a rare wolf species protected under the state law after he mistook it for a coyote, Iowa Department of Natural Resources has announced.
According to the authorities, the incident happened near Fairbank in Buchanan County in February, when the unnamed hunter was out in search of coyotes, a common pest which is perfectly legal to shoot because it is known to slay wild deer.
But the animal shot by the hunter was actually a grey wolf, a species that has not been seen in the US state since 1925.
“It’s unusual in that we don’t have a breeding population of them and so of course they are not very common at all. And this is the first documented one that we’ve had in quite some time,” biologist Vince Evelsizer said, as cited by Radio Iowa.
Mr. Evelsizer also said that the specimen was an adult female and weighed about 65 to 70 pounds (29.5 to 32 kg).
The DNR is currently testing the animal to determine where it came from. The department declined to issue a citation to the hunter because he thought he was shooting a coyote and he fully cooperated with authorities.