November 12, 2024 10:42 AM

Grand Canyon Wolf Sighting: Wolf Named Echo Mistaken For Coyote, Killed In Utah By Hunter, Officials Investigating Death

Grand Canyon Wolf Sighting - It has been a decade since a wolf made its appearance at the Grand Canyon. Now, it seems this event is unlikely to repeat since the wolf identified at the sighting has been killed in Utah. A hunter had mistaken the wolf for a coyote.

The wolf involved in the Grand Canyon wolf sighting has been identified as Echo. The 3-year old female wolf was spotted by school children during their visit to the Grand Canyon late last year. The gray wolf is one of the endangered species in the area.

Yet, the wolf in the Grand Canyon wolf sighting is no more. Reports claim Echo has been shot by a hunter in Utah after he mistook it for a coyote. Geneticists from the University of Idaho had determined through DNA comparison that the alleged coyote killed in Utah was indeed Echo the wolf from the Grand Canyon wolf sighting.

Echo, the wolf in the Grand Canyon wolf sighting, was reportedly "the first northern gray wolf to return to the Grand Canyon since the last was killed in the region in the 1940s." The Center for Biological Diversity claims Echo travelled more than 750 miles looking for a mate.

Following the death of Echo, the wolf in the Grand Canyon wolf sighting, officials have now set up an investigation. For those who don't know, wolves fall under Utah's Endangered Species Act. Steven Segin added that investigation will be conducted following Echo's death.

"Echo's killing illustrates the perils that wolves face and the imperative to maintain federal protections as called for under the science-based standards of the Endangered Species Act," shares the spokesman for the center, Michael Robinson.

The hunter involved in the killing of the wolf, known for the Grand Canyon wolf sighting, has yet to be identified. Critics are already bashing the hunter stating it was no accident and that the difference between a coyote and wolf could clearly be distinguished.

Tags
Echo, Grand canyon, Utah
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