It's doubtful that any of the foregoing photos were taken in Idaho. All of the four wolves shown in the images appear to be of fairly large size (the first estimated by state big game manager Randy Smith to be around 135 pounds, for example), whereas according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game the average weight of all the wolves killed in that state in 2009 was under 100 pounds.
Rumors of much larger specimens roaming the backwoods of Idaho have circulated ever since Canadian gray wolves were released in the state in the mid-1990s as part of a wolf reintroduction program managed by the federal government. Idaho officials say the rumors are false.
The three photos in the montage on page one are all of the same wolf. Circulating online since 2009, these images have generated much debate as to their provenance and authenticity. According to EXIF data embedded in the first of the three photos (as originally forwarded to me), the snapshot was taken with a Motorola Megapixel camera phone on May 16, 2009 and wasn't edited, putting to rest speculation that it was manipulated to exaggerate the size of the animal. Though already labeled "Idaho wolf" in forwarded emails dating from June 2009, the consensus arising from Internet discussions concerning this and the accompanying two images suggests the wolf was actually killed in Canada (though no one seems to be able to agree which province).
The origins of the remaining three photos remain similarly shrouded in mystery (for the time being), though I've found what may be the original posting of the image on page four (plus two similar ones) in a hunter's blog dated January 7, 2010. The location wasn't specified.
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Sources and further reading:
Fish and Game: Wolf Photo a Hoax
Idaho Mountain Express, 2 November 2011Update: Gigantic Wolf Killed in Sun Valley, Real or Fake?
KEJZ, 2 November 2011State Biologist Clarifies Wolf Myths
Idaho Mountain Express, 7 April 2010
Last updated 01/07/12
