The second round of DNA tests compared this Carroll County
canine's DNA with samples from timber wolves from Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Michigan. The tests found a close match. /
Missouri Department of Conservation COLUMBIA — It could take as
long as six months before conservation agents determine what a
Missouri hunter shot when he thought he was bagging an unusually
large coyote. The man — who asked officials not to disclose his
identity — was hunting for deer Oct. 30 at Franklin Island
Conservation Area when the animal came into range. The Columbia
Daily Tribune reports that coyotes are in season and the man had
a permit, so he shot what he thought was a state-record coyote.
But when it weighed 81 pounds — seven pounds more than the
national record — a Cooper County conservation agent ordered it
taken to a regional office for testing. Experts say the animal
could be a wolf, a large coyote or a hybrid animal with
characteristics of both. The only thing the Missouri Department
of Conservation knows for sure ab