by smurfman on Tue Jun 16, 2020 8:09 pm
Dead ringer for the male coyote I shot in the backyard a year ago. He and his girlfriend thought they would serenade us but I didn't like the tune. He was a little over 40# and colored just like that one. Probably related someplace as the picture and the one I shot were about 7 miles apart.
The wolves I've seen at the cabin have had a much rangier appearance. So did the one I saw near Almelund. There is also a different look to them, even on camera, that helps differentiate the two. This one just does have it or it is particularly un-photogenic.
Larger than normal coyotes seem to have less sharp features which can create problems in correctly differentiate between them and smaller bodied wolves. Still being in its winter coat further mutes the features. The ears and snout are more pointed than a wolf though it is difficult to tell. It does not have the classic "Wile E. Coyote" look which is more common further south. It would have been nice to have had the legs in the pic as perspective is difficult but that tree on the ground I think would need to be would need to be a bit larger in diameter to be proportional to a wolf.
Not to say there aren't wolves this far south on occasion - I know of two trapped in coyote sets around Almelund, have seen game camera pictures of three different wolves in a yard east of Forest Lake (3 pics over 7 years), and then the tracked crossing of a female wolf through the Hugo area on her trek from Camp Ripley to Lake Michigan and back.
I'll play the odds and listen to my not inconsequential gut and say this is a coyote.