'Beautiful' Photos of Maine Wolf Spark Outrage—'Haters Simply Love to Hate'

"Beautiful" photos of a wolf in Maine have sparked outrage on the internet, following the rare sighting.

The pictures were captured by non-profit organization the Maine Wolf Coalition and posted to Facebook, where the animal was captioned as a "wolflike canid." There are no established populations of wolves in the state of Maine, meaning that at first, it wasn't clear what species it was.

"We believe the canid in the photo is a wolf based on its physical appearance, size, and behavior. It is well within the size range of Eastern/Algonquin wolves," John M. Glowa, president of the Maine Wolf Coalition, told Newsweek. "We know that this animal fathered at least five pups in 2023. We readily acknowledge that the only way to determine if an animal is a wolf is through DNA analysis. The northeast U.S. may have either gray wolves or Eastern/Algonquin wolves or hybrids of both."

On Facebook, social media users debated the species. Some believed it was a coydog—a hybrid formed by a dog and a coyote. But others believed it was indeed a wolf.

Many people agreed, however, that the animal was "beautiful."

Not everyone was pleased at the rare sighting. Glowa said that some individuals may not want the animals in Maine over fears for their livestock and for "numerous reasons." The Maine Wolf Coalition advocates the protection of this species.

One Facebook user said: "Maine Wolf Coalition so if it is a wolf or part wolf what is your endgame?? Protection?? Shutting people out of their habitat? Ending any hunting in Maine? Shutting down our working woods?? Our Maine economy?? I see a lot of posts here from people not from here or live here. Do you want Maine to become California?? What is your goal here?"

"Interesting how people who obviously have no concern for wild animals and species preservation are a part of this group lol," another said.

Glowa stressed the benefits of having wolves in the state and discussed the wider issues raised by opponents.

"They do not accept the fact that wolves are very important to the ecosystem and actually benefit prey species by culling unfit animals," Glowa said. "They may falsely believe that documenting an endangered species in Maine may negatively impact the forest products industry. They may oppose any and all predators that kill "game" animals such as deer or moose because they want to hunt them.

"Some may simply fear wolves. The simple facts are that wolves are essential to a healthy ecosystem-there is enough prey for wolves and hunters-they are no threat to humans and virtually no threat to livestock-and there is not a shred of evidence that the forest products industry would be negatively impacted in any way. Some of these haters simply love to hate."

Most large canids in northern Maine are usually coyotes, with a small percentage of Eastern/Algonquin wolves, and some also have a very small percentage of gray wolf and dog in them, Glowa said. While there are no established populations of wolves in Maine, the state borders Canada, where there are lots of wolves.

"The scientific and physical evidence is overwhelming that wolves from Canada can and are attempting to recolonize the tens of thousands of square miles of suitable habitat south of the St. Lawrence River," Glowa said. "The legal killing of wolves in Canada and the illegal killing of wolves in the northeast pose an impediment to natural recolonization in the northeast.

"This is why we are beginning to work with Canadian wildlife advocates to get wolves in Ontario and Quebec some protection to allow them to survive to disperse south across the St. Lawrence River."

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