ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Genetic tests confirm that a large canine
shot on Newfoundland's Bonavista Peninsula in March was a wolf
that probably made it to the island on ice, provincial officials
said Friday. The province's Environment Department said DNA
testing carried out by Memorial University and the University of
Idaho has verified that the 37-kilogram animal was a Labrador
wolf. Wolves became extinct on the island around 1930. They have
been known to occasionally arrive from Labrador, though there is
no evidence of a breeding population. "We can only speculate on
how this wolf arrived on the island of Newfoundland, but most
likely it travelled from Labrador on sea ice to the island,"
Environment Minister Terry French said in a statement. "Wolves
are known to travel long distances and with the number of polar
bears coming ashore in Newfoundland this spring, sea ice was
plentiful enough to provide a travel route for a Labrador wolf."
Earlier this month, genetic testing confirmed that an animal
shot in April in