Were there wolves in Wilcox County, Alabama as late as 1975?

Allen Hall with wolf killed in 1975.

Were there wolves in Wilcox County as late at 1975?

That is the question that ran through my mind the other day as I looked at a picture of a wolf that was killed near Camden on Dec. 7, 1975. The photo, taken by Monroeville photographer Aaron White, was published in the Dec. 11, 1975 edition of The Monroe Journal newspaper. The caption beneath the photo read as follows:

“Wolf killed: Allen Hall of Route 1, Monroeville, killed this wolf while hunting Sunday near Camden. Wolves are rarely seen in this part of the state, and was a prize kill for Hall. He will have the animal mounted.”

Now before I go any further, I will be the first person to tell you that I am no wolf expert, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the animal in the photo was actually a coyote that had been misidentified as a wolf. According to Outdoor Alabama, red wolves, also known as brush wolves, one inhabited a variety of habitats statewide, but they were extirpated from Alabama in the 1920s. By the 1980s, there were no known wild populations in existence anywhere in the Southeast.

Red wolves were reported to be on the verge of extinction in Alabama in 1921. The last known stronghold of these animals in Alabama was in the rough, hilly region from Walker County northwestward to Colbert County. Present-day red wolf populations exist in captivity with the exception of a reintroduction to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.

It would be interesting to know if Hall had his wolf mounted because a close examination of the wolf’s remains might shed more light on the situation. Unfortunately, Hall, who went by the nickname “Buck,” passed away in 2012 at the age of 81. Hall, a Navy veteran of the Korean War, was widely known throughout the area for his work as an electrician and plumber for over 50 years.

Could Hall’s wolf have been a coyote? The two animals are similar, but there are also striking differences. Coyotes are usually smaller than wolves with darker coats and pointed muzzles. Sources say that coyotes make high-pitched howls, barks and yelps while wolves make lower howls, whines and barks.

Also, coyotes are frequently seen in urban areas, but wolves tend to stay far away from humans. According to Outdoor Alabama, red wolves prefer bottomland river forests and swamps, but they were sometimes seen around farms and coastal prairie marshes. As a rule, they thrive in areas where they have a lot of prey to feed on and where there are very few humans.

When it comes to their tracks, there are big differences between wolves and coyotes. Coyote tracks are usually about two inches wide and 2-1/2 inches long. Wolf tracks can be as large as an adult human palm, that is, almost four inches wide and five inches long.

In the end, let me hear from you if you have any additional information about Allen Hall’s wolf. Also, contact me if you’ve ever had a personal encounter with a wolf inside the boundaries of Wilcox County. While it’s highly unlikely, it’s not impossible that there may be a wolf or two out there somewhere in the deep, dark woods of Wilcox County.