Column: Pure wolves will likely never return to Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 15, 2026

Wolves were commonplace when settlers first came to Maine. A “predator” void was left when these wolves were killed off around the turn of the century. In time, our present day coyote migrated eastward and filled the niche. Biologists believe that our Maine coyote came here via Ontario already “hybridized” with the smaller eastern wolf. What about efforts by activists to get gray wolves introduced to Maine? “If an eastern wolf from Ontario or Quebec finds its way to Maine, it will find itself in a sea of eastern coyotes. Any dispersing eastern wolf would readily hybridize with eastern coyotes, and the offspring would be assimilated into an eastern coyote population that already has a genetic legacy of wolf genes,” said retired U.S Fish and Wildlife biologist Mark McCollough. Which seems to say that a wolf reintroduction initiative in Maine just wouldn’t work. ~ V. Paul Reynolds