A motorist traveling along Interstate 90, near the Black Hills National Cementery, found a large canine animal lying dead in the median. He turned it over to state Game, Fish and Parks personnel. They have since turned it over to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for DNA testing for two reasons. One is to first determine if it’s a wolf and secondly, if so, try to determine where it came from.
Wolves are native to South Dakota but are not readily seen or reported there. Occasionaly officials get reports of sightings but the last official confirmed sighting was in Harding County in 2001. The animals may stray into the area from surrounding states like Montana, Wyoming and Minnesota.
The dead animal carcass found on the Interstate was male, weighing 113 pounds and had many of the classic signs of being a wolf. Tests should confirm or disprove.
Tom Remington
