Here are your stories about seeing wolves and mountain lions in Maine

By Julie Harris, Bangor Daily News Staff

A video from northern Maine submitted to the BDN of a probable male wolf and four of his pups stirred up some discussion.

The Maine Wolf Coalition has submitted photographic evidence of individual animals that could be wolves, but biologists consistently say there are no breeding wolf populations in the state.

“Most people think of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) when wolves come to mind. However, some researchers are convinced that eastern wolves (Canis lycaon) are living and breeding in Maine,” said Ken Smith, who studies the animals and volunteered with Maine Wolf Coalition for a year.

Maine has no pure coyotes (Canis latrans), but rather eastern coyotes (Canis latrans+) that are a genetic mix of coyote, wolf and even a bit of dog, Smith said. An eastern wolf is smaller than a gray wolf and a bit larger than an eastern coyote, he said.

Smith, who is a disabled veteran who retired to Patten in 2020, said he sees the wolves on his 20 or so game cameras placed around his property several times a week. Smith said the animals are different from the coyotes he knows from Montana and Ohio.

Some of the animals he documented in Mount Chase, including their howling, scat size and tracks, indicate they could be eastern wolves, or high percentage wolves, he said. The female is 28 inches tall and had five pups in the spring. The others with them are smaller, around 25 inches tall, and could be eastern coyotes, he said.

Based on reader response to the original video, we thought we would ask readers to share their opinions and their own stories about possible wolf and mountain lion sightings.

Jeff Hamilton said he saw a mountain lion near Black Fry Road, south of Masardis, in approximately 2005 while bird hunting with his father and uncle. The cat crossed a logging road midday, had a long tail and walked like a lion, he said. Hamilton’s father reported the sighting to the state, but got little response.

Kyra Shufelt of Lebanon inquired about the animal pictured in the photo with this article. She took the photo on the morning of Sept. 4 in her back yard. Send your thoughts about it to jharris@bangordailynews.com and I will share them with her.

Judy Doran was driving south on Route 236 from South Berwick to Eliot when she saw a large, lion-like creature with a long tail, fully stretched out in powerful running mode cross the road in front of her. The day was bright, and Doran said she could not imagine it could be anything but a mountain lion.

Valerie Chiasson said that she and her son saw a mountain lion sunning itself at the edge of her lawn in Brooklin about 23 years ago. When they opened the back door and called to it, the cat stood up, wheeled around to show its long tail and ran into the woods. The town’s road commissioner had seen it cross the road a couple days before that, she said, and her friend saw one this past week in her Penobscot back yard.

A person who guided wilderness trips in northern Maine said there were no sightings of mountain lions or wolves during the journeys. Another person said they saw a wolf in Abbot.

Wendy Wagner, town not included, cautioned people to be careful about their wishes. If state biologists acknowledge mountain lions or wolves are in Maine, all current uses of the woods, including hunting and wood-cutting, would be halted to not disturb the animals’ habitat, she said.

“It is extremely difficult to tell the difference between an eastern coyote and an eastern wolf just by looking at it. Are they wolves? Are they eastern coyotes? Are the coyotes breeding with the wolves? DNA studies are currently in the works to try and figure this mystery out,” Smith said.

It’s obvious that further study is necessary to make final determinations, whether that is led by private groups or state biologists, or doesn’t happen at all, remains to be seen.