Possible Wolf Sighting South of Boulder
G&F called to the scene.
by Jennifer Binning

Bardy Bardin was returning home late last week from showing some hunters where to find a moose when he noticed a "big, black and gray really tall dog" standing near his haystack.

As Mr. Bardin got closer to get a better look, the animal "didn't act right," he said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. "It got a really big hump in it's back and it kind of kinked up, sort of hopping sideways" when his dogs got close, recalls Bardy. Mr. Bardin's dogs beat a hasty retreat with their tails between their legs once they got a good look at the intruder.

"I know it was not a coyote," said Bardy, who also noticed the animal had on some sort of blue collar. Bardy called Dennis Almquist of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, but the canine had disappeared before Mr. Almquist could arrive. Dennis told Bardy that there was a possibility it was one of the collared wolves from Yellowstone, but it may also be a domestic wolf that had been abandoned, among many other options. Bardy said it is apparently not uncommon for people to raise a wolf pup, only to find they become rather difficult to handle as they get older. Often these dogs are released into the wild where they are ill prepared to survive on their own.

The moose hunters later reported to Bardy that they had seen a similar animal, perhaps the same one, on the way into their hunting area.

If you've seen a wolf or something resembling a wolf in Sublette County, we'd love to hear about it. Please give the Journal a call at 367-3713.