N.B.'s 1st confirmed dead wolf set for public display
Hunter shot the 88-pound young male wolf in Saint-Simon in 2012
A wolf shot on the Acadian Peninsula last year — the first confirmed wolf killing in the province in more than a century — is now mounted and ready for public display this summer.
The 88-pound young male, a mix of the grey and Eastern Canadian species, will be shown at the Village Historique Acadien in Caraquet, near where it was killed.
Jacques Mallet, the hunter who shot the animal in Saint-Simon, thinking it was a coyote, said he believes it will be a big attraction.
He said there have been stories of possibly more wolves in the area.
"I've had some people come to me and say they have seen very large animals, and I've seen some big tracks, but not another wolf," said Mallet.
It took DNA tests to confirm the animal, which was about three times bigger than an average coyote, with larger ears and paws, was indeed a wild wolf.
The last time a wolf had been reported killed in the province was in 1876.
They were believed to have been hunted to extinction after the province starting offering a bounty in 1858 of 15 shillings for every wolf killed.
Scientists at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, where the wolf will become part of a new exhibit on the history of wolves in the province, believe it may be a sign of more to come.
'It's certainly been a long time since we've seen any wolves in the province, but I don't believe this will be the last.' —Don McAlpine, zoologist
"It's certainly been a long time since we've seen any wolves in the province, but I don't believe this will be the last," said zoologist Don McAlpine.
Scientists suspect the Eastern wolf was the first wolf species to inhabit New Brunswick. And while the Eastern wolf's range has shrunk, hybrids are doing well in Quebec, said McAlpine.
He said he believes the healthy young male, with moose in its stomach, likely crossed the frozen St. Lawrence River.
If wolves do return to New Brunswick, it's difficult to predict their impact on the ecosystem, said McAlpine.
"Will they hybridize with coyotes? Will they compete with coyotes? Will they affect moose and deer?" McAlpine said.
"We don't know what the effects of that would be."