Podcast: The south Michigan mystery of a wolf killed during coyote hunt

• For months, Michigan has been mystified by the tale of a wolf shot dead in southern Michigan, hundreds of miles from its northwoods habitat
• Bridge Michigan’s reporting revealed exclusive details about the killing
• Now, we’ve teamed up with Interlochen Public Radio to tell the story in audio form

How did an endangered gray wolf from the northwoods wind up dead in a southern Michigan farm field?

It’s a question that has stumped onlookers ever since state wildlife officials announced in April that a wolf was shot and killed nearly three months earlier in rural Calhoun County.

Related:

• Wolf wars: As Michigan packs grow, a battle brews over killing the predators
• Prosecutor won't charge hunter in southern Michigan wolf kill
• Probe of wolf shot in south Michigan, far from habitat, focuses on trap wounds
• Dead wolf mystery in south Michigan deepens, prompts criminal probe

Bridge Michigan’s exclusive reporting uncovered key details the state left out of that announcement, including the fact that the wolf had apparently been trapped in the days or weeks before its death, and taxidermied afterward as a state conservation officer’s actions delayed the investigation into its death.

Now, we’ve teamed with Interlochen Public Radio to explore the mystery in audio form. 

The latest episode of IPR’s Points North podcast relies on Bridge’s reporting, including interviews, investigative reports and audio files obtained through Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act.

You can listen to the podcast here, and catch up on all of our coverage of the wolf kill mystery here. 

The podcast takes readers through the criminal probe into the wolf’s death, and a prosecutor’s ultimate decision not to press charges against the hunter who shot the animal while coyote hunting nor the guide who coached him though the process or the taxidermist who later mounted the 84-pound animal’s carcass. 

It also delves into Michigan’s long and contentious battle over the fate of the Upper Peninsula wolf population, which at times has devolved into threats to relocate wolves into southern Michigan.

Because wolves are a federally listed endangered species, it’s illegal to kill them in almost any circumstance. 

While only the federal government can lift that ban, Michigan lawmakers and interest groups continue to debate whether wolf hunting should be allowed in the state.