Wolf-dog, captured on Akwesasne, now missing

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April 22, 2009

Anonymous The Press Republican Fri May 14, 2010, 07:33 PM EDT

AKWESASNE — Someone freed or took the wolf-dog hybrid captured late last month on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation.

The animal disappeared sometime between Sunday evening and Monday morning, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Animal Control Officer Derek Comins said. The lock on the pen had been cut.

"If somebody simply let him out of the cage, he'll show up somewhere in the community again, looking for food, since he's used to being fed by humans," Comins said in a news release.

"The other possibility is that somebody may have taken him away, but it would not have been easy.

"He's been skittish and defensive in this unfamiliar environment, so I'm not sure how a person would be able to get him into a vehicle or a cage."

The animal, believed to be part wolf and part dog, had been captured so wildlife experts could check its DNA to see if it actually is a wolf-dog hybrid.

Comins said the animal does not pose a threat to the community but warned that residents should not try to capture it.

He advised people to either call him or the police, to avoid leaving dog food out and to secure their trash-can lids.

"Our priority has been to find a safe place for him," Comins said. "We had a refuge lined up, and he was supposed to have been transported this coming weekend.

"What worries me is that he may get hit by a car or that somebody will get scared and shoot him."

The final DNA test results are not known yet, "but if he is 100-percent wolf, killing him would be a felony since wolves are an endangered species."

Its presence and that of others like it has raised cultural, legal and environmental issues on the reservation, where wolves have traditional clan significance.

Anyone with information is asked to call Comins at 358-2272, Ext. 287, or the St. Regis Mohawk Police at 358-9200.