Two things about your observation that I don't quite agree with:
1) The coloring. I've yet to see a German shepherd with uniform coloring. They USUALLY (I may not have seen them all!) have brown coats with large black patches. This one is a uniform color.
2) The tail. German shepherds usually have skinnier, arched tails. This guy's tail is large and round and straight. When I saw it from the front, It in no way seemed to be a dog to me, but I was startled and may be off on that point.

I spotted a wolf while driving along Route 16 leaving Norwich, NY a few days ago. It was crossing the road and I came close to hitting it. At first I thought it was a coyote but it's about the height of my lab so probably a wolf.

Please Google for 'coyotes have wolf dna' for details.
I do not recall the exact references, but here is a summary I read last week about two university studies which agreed in this :

- there are different coyotes in the Northeast. The smaller ones immigrated via Pennsylvania. The larger ones immigrated into the Northeast via Canada and mated with wolves. These larger coyotes are as big as German shepherds and have about 20% of their DNA from wolves. That means wolves have sneaked back in via coyotes.

- via DNA one wolf caught/killed in the NE was actually a wolf. It is not known yet whether it was an escaped pet.
- coydogs do not exist. There was no dog DNA in any of the coyotes caught/killed.

I just googled "wolves in NY" and found this sight to confirm what I now know to be the case. To my amazement, I too saw a wolf last weekend in upstate NY, between Minisink and Westtown, just 2 hours from New York City! It was a solitary large grey wolf about the size of a full grown German Shepherd,who ran about 30 yards distance from us, through the small wood in the back of my property just before dust. He paid us no mind, just weaved between the trees and vanished. We had heard howling at night on several occasions off in the distance, but had assumed it was merely coyote,however we now realized that this was more likely the source of the haunting calls in the middle of the night.

My little opinion: As fascinating as this all sounds to me, being a nature lover, ecologist, and native of Western NY, I am very skeptical about these reports. Firstly, wolves are gregarious, and are rarely seen alone --- they travel and HUNT in packs of 2-8 individuals, but according to the DEC website, the groups can be as large as 20 animals. (Notice how all the reports are of solitary animals??) AND despite being shy, they are VERY inquisitive toward humans. A former professor of mine (and excellent naturalist), once told me about a pack of wolves in Alaska approaching him, to within a distance of 20 feet -- so I don't buy the "they are shy" bit. If there were packs roaming around in NY, there would be no question about their presence....farmers would be reporting the killing of large stock (eg: cattle, sheep), NOT geese, which anything can kill. Cougars are solitary animals, and therefore, would escape detection much more effectively, so wolves are not really comparable to cougars in NY. Actually, as much as I would love for the wolf to be restored to some of its original range, I fear that if wolves do come back to the region, the hunters would be lining up to shoot them.

Here is a link that might be useful: DEC website (source)

While driving home on the East River Road just north of Earlville, NY, a very large coyote sprinted across the road and jumped the bank. With my lights on the animal, it looked like a wolf.

This has sparked the debate in our house and led me to this post looking for evidence as to whether or not it could have been a wolf, or a crossbreed, as my son claimed.

We have a wolf that comes into our yard on a regular basis. I have two LARGE dogs and the wolf is bigger than my largest male. We have about 20-30 deer daily walking through our back yard to get to the revine. We woke up to a wolf howling two nights ago outside our bedroom window. THe dogs were so scared they didn't bark, or get up to see what was going on. Sure enough we had tracks going through the yard. My husband has lived here for 50 yrs and said that it was definatly a wolf.

Today, this being 01/30/2011 My wife and I were on I-90 about 10 miles east of Syracuse when we observed what is unmistakenly, without a doubt a gray wolf. There was/is no doubt in my mind and there was enough traffic that we could NOT have been the only ones to see it. The area was very close to the wildlife refuge off of I-90 and I wonder if wolves were relocated there.

I was once an active sportsman, with the license to prove it! Anyway, I was just above the 3500ft line about 3/4 mile off the trail at my deer stand back in 2000. This was on one of the taller "peaks" (hint hint) in the Catskills. It was just beginning to be daylight out when I scanned the horizon with my scope. I saw near a slow moving stream about maybe 150 vertical feet below me and maybe 1000 ft away what appeared to be three or four coyotes drinking. I left it at that, didn't see any deer that day and headed back down the mountain. Before doing so I decided to climb down to where I saw the Coyotes...after being joined by fellow hunters we studied the tracks and kept thinking the tracks were really large for a coyote. Two weeks later, my uncle tracked a wounded deer that he had shot in the same area. When he caught up to the deer, it was being attacked by three or four wolves. He has a coyote mounted in his game room, so he knows a thing or two. He was willing to consider them being Coydogs, like a German Shepherd mix, but was thoroughly convinced he was right. He fired a warning shot in the air and the wolves dispersed.

Maybe a couple of months later there was talk locally of livestock kills in the area, which was unheard of for years. The papers caught wind of it, theories of everything from the chupacabra to the mountain lion were discussed, but the DEC themselves found the attacks to be consistent with large, or very large packs of coyotes or other unknown canine species.

I think there are isolated populations of wolves throughout the state. The DEC would have you think not, but the fact is, wolves exist to the north and not too far to the West, and it is not entirely outside the realm of possibility for them to have migrated. Years ago, wolves existed in force in NY.

dear mntracy what an -ss YOU are! your snarky sarcastic know it all response was totally uncalled for. What are you waiting for for us all to say OOOOH! what a smart guy? I live not too far from the woman who said she saw what she thought was a wolf. Now it may have been an eastern coyote BUT it could have indeed been a wolf.When I was in college for my conservation degree we visited a rehab in western NY that did have wolves not too far from where she said she saw them. As escapes are not unheard of and people own all manner of wildlife as pets, someone's (pet) may have escaped.If you can't be civil don't blog as you just showed us all what an ignorant piece of work you are.

Located in Clayton, New York. About fifteen minutes from Watertown, New York. Not too from Cananda either. Couple of days ago, I saw a wolf walking through my backyard. Live in an area where it's pretty secluded. There are bobcats, coyotes, deer, turkey-- you name it, I've probably seen it in my backyard. I've seen wolves up in the Tug Hill area, years ago... but never have I seen a wolf in Clayton... specially during the day. There's no doubt in my mind that it was a wolf. Been around enough wildlife to know what it was. I'm thinking there's more than one because I have heard a different kind of howling (not coyote or regular dog; which I do hear every night) that was coming from a few animals. Heard them chasing something the other night. This kind of disturbs me as I have a golden retriever that is absolutely clueless and thinks all our wildlife want to play with him.

My wife drives to a road in our area that she walks every day for the past 6 years. She usually takes our 2 boxers which are around 90 lbs. each. As she was returning to her car, she was startled by a dozen deer that were running right past her at full speed. A minute later she saw a large animal standing at the tree line within 50 feet of her. We have large dogs and this animal was larger than them. It was large, bushy tailed, long legs, multiple shades of gray and she is convinced it was a wolf. We have coyotes in the woods behind our house and are well aware of their size, color and features. She is also sure this was not a Husky or German Shepard. Unless someone in WNY has a pet wolf they let run lose in our area, she saw a wolf. I've contacted the DEC and hope to hear from them soon. I'm sure they'll say it was a dog or coyote.

It doesn't really matter if you see or have seen a wolf, coyote or hybrid. What matters is that people post politely. This is a public, CONGENIAL forum to exchange and share ideas and information so If you want to blast someone do it privately. Don't be offensive to everyone else.

Penny

As I thought. The DEC assured me it is a coyote because all wolves are extinct in NYS. Unless of course a pet wolf has gotten loose. Who has pet wolves in WNY??
I'll do my best to get a picture. The area in question is well secluded and POSTED. Best part, it's state land. Will the DEC eat crow if I get a picture of an extinct Wolf on State Land.

On four different occasions in the past 30 years I have seen wolves crossing the road: once near Boonville, NY, once closer to Watertown, NY and twice in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. I've also seen coyotes near Fort Drum/Watertown, NY; there is a noticeable difference in size and appearance between wolves and coyotes. The wolves I saw were 1+1/2 to 2 times larger than a German Shepherd, had very long legs, were well built with thick dark to medium grey coats, and had long bushy tails. They ran effortlessly with a wild grace, a thrill to see.

My wife and I have seen a wolf here in East Aurora NY, about 15 miles from Buffalo. We have spotted them 4x and I hope to get a picture soon. Maybe it is a hybrid, but seems to big for a coyote.

Okay, so I live in Franklin County, NY, and yes, in a sense, there are wolves. For years, there have been packs of wolf-like animals with reddish fur roaming the woods around my house. There are large packs of them. Years ago, many people called them coydogs. That was back when they thought the animals were created by coyotes breeding with dogs. This turned out to be untrue, though the term coydog is still used frequently.
After that faze, many people believed that these animals were purebred coyotes, which is also untrue. They are, in fact, descendents of the eastern red wolf, and coyotes have bred themselves into the DNA chain through the years. So yes, they are wolves. Most of the ones in northern New York have a red tint to their fur, though recently, more and more have been seen bearing pure silver and dark grey fur.

This seems to be the latest study I've found on this. It's pretty much what I've read in the past . I hope it works

Here is a link that might be useful: wolves in Ny

I have been taking care of the same property for ten years in orange county ny im at the base of storm king mountain in cornwall just a few miles from the bear mountain bridge last week on my property there was a pack of 4 all big i was up a hill 2 of them stoped and took a good look at me after about 15 seconds i jumped into my john deer gator and chased them off the property up into the mountain all 4 were consistant in color it was the biege in a german shepard or the color of mountan lion ther hind quarters were three in half feet tall while the tip of the ear being four feet

I work in Ossining NY which is below the large wooded area of the croton watershed. The place where I work has large amounts of wild life on the wooded property. This afternoon at 5:15 I saw a sizable animal running across the field. It ran about a hundred feet away from me. I was shocked to see what appears to be a wolf. This evening I did Internet seaches and I am sure that the grey colored animal that looked like a canine was indeed a wolf in westchester county new york.

On August 5, 2011 at about 4:30 pm I spotted a large gray animal that looked like a wolf on Stormytown Road just off route 9A.

The animal ran across the road from north to the south into a wooded area.

On August 2, 2011 around 10:00PM I think I saw a grey wolf on 9J, between Rensselaer and Castleton. It was too large to be a coyote and it was definitely not a domestic dog.

I've lived and hunted in upstate NY for all of my 73 years (the last 50 in rural Chenango Co)--in that time I've seen turkeys, black bears, otters, falcons, moose and coyotes make a comeback due to either DEC releases or migration for other areas. Also I've heard a lot of reports by laymen of wolves and mountain lions. I'm of the opinion that (1) those people that have these sightings do not know what they are looking at(i.e have never seen the animal in the wild) or are confused by size/color (the animal is actually smaller than the sighter thinks it is). This is especially true of wolves--but could also hold true for mt. lions. There is no question that the Eastern coyote is a wolf/coyote cross and, through random breeding, some individuals closely resemble wolves. I suggest that most of those above who have seen a "wolf" have, in fact, seen a coyote--a large one perhaps but a coyote nonetheless. Having seen both large and small specimens of this species I can attest that they vary a great deal in both size and color. Seeing one in flight it is very easy to mistake the size with nothing to compare it to but it is also easy to miss the telltale distinction between canines that make a wolf a wolf and a coyote a coyote. That is not to say there may not be wolves in NY--I know people that have had them as pets (you can buy full or cross-bred ones--check the Internet)and these could well have escaped or been turned lose. Likewise there is always the chance that one could have wandered in from Ontario via the Adirondacks--see link below which offers the latest on this. But until there are DEC naturalists that can confirm breeding populations I remain skeptical of layman sightings. While we--and I'm including myself in this--would like to believe that the wild places in the NE are populated by returning predator species, the truth is that the area is just too small and the prey to sparse to support either wolves or mt. lions.

Here is a link that might be useful: wolves in NY

We live just North of Cobleskill, NY on Settles Mtn. My wife was cutting an open field on large riding mower when a huge wolf or coy-wolf actually ran beside the mower before running into the woods. I saw him one morning on berm behind our house, the sun was shining on him and he was very beautiful with large grey head/main. He was gone before I could get my camera. My wife has seen him several times and I saw him last night in the headlights of my car as I was coming in my long driveway, running across the driveway with his tail down. About a month ago the noon whistle from Cobleskill (3 miles away) sounded and behind the house in the woods, we could hear a couple young howling. We have seen coyotes but they are thin and mostly cinnamon in color and look like medium-sized dogs. A few years ago I found a huge animal track near my barn. The farm next door has lots of sheep and the sheep & sheep dogs go crazy every once in a while at night. DEC will deny that there are any wolves in our area, but we talked with an older woman in Schoharie and she said they are coy-wolves as she had seen them numerous times in the Schoharie Valley.

Saw what looked like a white wolf walking along side the Palisades Parkway while driving home at night. It looked big and the white seemed to stand out on.

I'm from the Orange County NY area and I have heard the countless stories from the "Ol' Timers". I spoke to this one man from my hunting club who spoke of wolves roaming this area when he was young boy and he still feels that they are around here. He says that they are very sneaky and can hide very well from human contact. I didn't believe this man until now! I have many coyotes around me, I grew up watching these beautiful animals and listening to them all night some nights. I used to watch them walk around all the time. I once had left my window open one night to take in the sounds of wildlife and I got more than I bargained for. I heard what sounded like a pure wolf howl no yipping or yelping a pure deep howl it made my hair stand up and I shot out of bed to see if I could get a good look, all I heard was some branches and twigs and leafs rustling in the woods and it sounded bigger than when the coyotes run around but, it was pitch black outside and I couldn't see anything. I barely have any neighbors I am straight in the middle of the woods. I did my research before this experience and this was not a coyote. After the experience I told that same ol' man about my experience and he didn't say anything he just smiled it was like something out of a book or movie. I know what I heard I believe it was a wolf. It has been a year-and-a-half now, but I still hope to run into this wolf again and prove they are here they may not be a lot of them, but they are here. There has been plenty of reports of wolves here and farther upstate as well. Thank You for your time.

I was driving slowly on a slippery NY rt 22 between Berlin and Cherry Plain last night about 10PM. When I came up on a large wolf walking along the road. It ran off from my headlights. I hear this is unusual behavior for a wolf, however I know it was a wolf from friends who had them for pets in New Mexico. I have a 120 lb German Shepherd, and this animal was close to that size, but the standard Gray Wolf coloring.
I live in east Rensselaer County. We have coyotes and fox, but this was not them.
It was beautiful and surreal. I would love to know anyone else in my area who has sited the Gray Wolf.

I reside in New Rochelle (Westchester County. Spotted three wolves, reddish in color, running through residential neighborhood this afternoon. WILD

schoharie county here just got this picture and a video of this guy on one of my trail cameras.. this is a coyote correct? not 100% sure just becasue of the size..
http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/52/752/5/69/50/2060569500107428211JejpjY_th.jpg

also got this bobcat have a video as well
http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/81/81/6/41/11/2105641110107428211dlByPM_th.jpg

http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/18935/2105641110107428211S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb05.webshots.com/46916/2060569500107428211S600x600Q85.jpg

On three occasions I've seen a wolf or wolves here in Western New York. The first was on Lake Erie during January of 2007, I spotted one trotting about 200 yards off the Hamburg coast. The owner of the house had a pair of high powered binoculars with a bench mounted tripod, and we were able to observe the animal for several minutes under clear daylight conditions. It was grey, with thick fur, and was trotting unconcernedly towards the south.

My host called DEC and they assured him that what we saw must have been a dog or a coyote, since there are no wolves in New York State.

The second time I was driving up Yanke Road in the Town of Ischua, Allegany County, just after dusk, in January of 2009, when I spotted three in my headlights near the road. They were big, 50-70 lb. each, and quickly vanished into the brush as I approached.

The third time was later that same evening, near Cuba Lake, while heading into the village with a friend and his son, I saw a very large one in an open field. They saw a second one which I didn't see. Since this was only about three miles from the first sighting, they might have been part of the same group. We all agreed that they were wolves.

These are not coyotes as I have lived out west and seen coyotes many times. Coyotes are much smaller (about 35 lb.) and have darker, scruffier coats.

If you are skeptical, you can look at this video that my friend took when he encountered one when he was out hunting. He calls it a coyote but I would call it a wolf. Judge for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=NT6sePYyeL0&page=3

We live in Coventryville between State Rtes 206 & 41 and have seen what we believe is a RED wolf twice this past weekend. 1st time was driving on rte 206 (approx 3 miles before our road) @ 9:50pm when I pointed out what I thought was a dog crossing in front of us. Then I saw the tail & said "oh, it's a red fox". Well, let me tell you, we have never seen a red fox that big OR one that could clear a guardrail! The next day around 3pm, (7 degees & windy but sunny) I let my 23LB Shiba Inu dog out our french doors & she immediately went to the top step of deck & assumed her "attack pose." I did not see anything for a full 2 min. My dog then went into her "high alert" pose and the wolf(? ) emerged from woods. It had a stare down w my dog till she went running at top speed towards it. The thing never moved...just stood there glaring & waiting for my dog to reach it. It only moved when I opened the storm door & yelled. It was much leaner than coyotes we've seen in the hip/stomach area, both longer & taller & was mostly dark red w/ areas of black fur on face, neck, back and tail. Spoke to a friend who lives 5 miles away & he has been seeing deer really chewed up like he hasn't seen before in his woods. He is an avid nature-lover/ hunter who owns a heavily wooded property also on a quiet rural rd. Is it possible it has come here due to our increased coyote population and our ample deer???

The presence of Gray Wolves has been confirmed in Western Mass. Why do some of you insist it's not possible in NY? I live in Rensselaer County, NY, which by the way is a mere 30 minute drive to The Berkshires, which just happens to be Western Massachusetts. If you don't agree, do so without insulting other members.

What an incredible video of a beautiful wolf, I have seen a coyote once and it wasnt as big or as handsome as wolfs are, YES wolfs are definitely here in NY
Christine

Coyotestink, of course there cannot be wolves in New York even if they are in Western Massachusetts! I mean, state lines are clearly printed on the soil and a wolf would NEVER cross a state line without getting proper authorization first!

FYI for all the people who are certain there are no wolves in NYS, there have been a number of relocation efforts to bring wolves back into the state. There are a number of start up populations that are PROTECTED. Not only have we found that they are essential to keeping prey populations down, but they keep lesser predators like coyotes at bay.

Just spotted a grey wolf off in Scarsdale NY. Wow! I've lived in NE most my life, have a place upstate, I'm 52. I've seen several coyotes, and many fox...definitely a wolf and easy to identify as such. Came out of the woods at night near Bronx River Turnpike. Made my month!

they aren't wolves. They are coywolves. They are a hybrid.

While fishing yesterday in the Salmon River in Pulaski NY, I saw what thought was a black wolf. It came out of woods on the other side of the river, stalked the riverbank for just about a minute and took off. Looked like a wolf to me, no tags, bigger than a normal dog with a stance like a wolf.

I am a mail carrier in Union Springs NY. I was going down a road today that is half seasonal huge fields with a gully near by. Often see deer, turkey and geese on this road. Today as I was going down this road I saw a very large dark colored wolf. (Not a coyote) He stood still and watched me watch him. I continued down to last house turned around and came back up the road. I stopped to look at him again only this time there were two more with him. ( tan colored) They quickly ran off into the woods the darker one stood for a couple seconds more and watched me and then followed them into the woods.

in 2012 my boyfriend, his mother, and i were on our way home from the town of Whitehall NY (washington county) tward Fairhaven VT on a back road when a VERY large wolf ran across the road infront of us into a cornfield. it was over 100 lbs easily, mostly black and very tall with a thick tail that stuck out straight behind it as it ran. size wise this guy was like a fluffy full grown great dane.. at least thats what the long legs reminded me of. it was close enough that we all knew exactly what it was when we had seen it. theres no mistaking something this size with a shepard or coyote also im not sure what these smaller "eastern wolves" are, but this wasnt it.

I live in Tioga Center NY only around a thirty minute distance to Chemung. We have what I believe to be a wolf by our house that is part of a pack of Coyotes. We are surrounded by farms, lots of land and very few houses. The very distinct howl we and some neighbors hear at night is very different from the Coyotes. It raises the hairs on the back of your neck.... A few years back my Uncle was on his way to work and saw it in a field by itself. He also believes it is a wolf it was bigger than a coyote with gray coloring.

Last spring we saw two beautiful canids in back of our home in the woods in Ulster county. They were about 65 lbs. each, taller and huskier than coyotes with more rust color They were investigating under a fallen tree, but there wasn't much brush and they were very visible, only about 30 feet, and a bit below, as we watched from inside the window. We do have a lot of coyotes, but these didn't have the pointy snout and bigger ears. They were very inquisitive and quick moving, and quite sociable with each other. Unusual and wild. I immediately thought they might be red wolves, but we haven't heard any low pitched howls at night, just the coyote and some dog noises too.

The above sighting was in the lower Catskills in New York, where there is an abundance of healthy coyotes and lots of food for any predator to easily find. I will add that 40 (or so) years ago we were about an hour north when one of the neighbor farm guys showed us a mountain lion he had just shot. It was perfect and beautiful, filling the large trunk of his car. It was still soft, it's tan fur so lovely. Also saw a lynx alongside the road one night in Green county, not long ago. As one of your contributors said 'They can't be here because the borders are clearly marked and they wouldn't cross state lines!!!!' How dumb would we be !!! hmmm against state laws ......... hey, a moose was killed on the ny thruway near kingston, ny ! Hey, dec, ... we are awake & aware ! R U ?

What a shame he had to kill it

He was a farmer if Mt. Lion was going after livestock he had no choice.

Just saw a wolf today on 87 near warrensburg.

I lived in Whitehall, NY for 12yrs., bordering Granville in the hills. Very few homes around me. I was bringing my 2 dogs out to leash them and was bringing the 2nd one off the leash as I spotted unusual black color in the straw across the road. When I went into the house I grabbed my binaculars and went back out. No doubt I was starring into the eyes of a wolf. Black trim around the ears, greyish black across the back and a black tail and large. I went back to the house for a camera and he had left. Definately not a coyote. That was not my only sighting as I had one nearby by home run across the road in front of my car. Another time I waa heading to town and one was on the side of the road. Couldn't get my phone quick enough and another time 3 of them were lined up on a tree line and ducked down below the hill behind them. This sighting was within 300 yrds away from the last one. There were times that the howling would shake the entire hillside. I also saw in Nov of 2006 the mountain lion on Rt 22A in Granville, NY. There is plenty of wildlife up in those hills and my location was also very close the the Fair Haven and Poultney VT borders.. Wish I had pics of them.

Debbie, I've read of so many sightings of wolfs & mountain lions, It's a shame and I don't understand why the DEC denies we have them here in NY.

Please google ". Maine wolf coalition facebook". Our organization just documented an eastern wolf in Maine through DNA analysis of its scat. Believe nothing NYDEC or USFWS tells you about wolves in the northeast. They are here. Documented wolf populations are as close as 60 miles from NY and 75 miles from Maine. The northeast has abundant prey and habitat for wolves. jglowa@roadrunner.com