BILLINGS — A western Montana woman’s post is going viral on Facebook after she claims she shot, killed, and skinned a wolf pup in Flathead County. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, the animal she hunted wasn’t a wolf, but a dog.
The woman took to social media, claiming she “smoked” a wolf pup with pictures to prove it, including one of the shot and skinned animal.
However, there was one big, glaring problem with the post.
“We’ve determined that it wasn’t a wolf,” said Greg Lemon, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Park's communication and education division administrator.
MTN is refraining from showing those photos in the post and identifying the woman, who has not been charged with anything related to the incident. MTN reached out to the woman on social media but did not immediately get a response.
According to Lemon, the woman actually shot a dog near Martin City outside of Kalispell.
“It’s always important to be certain of the animal you’re going to harvest,” Lemon said.
Great Falls native Rebecca Harding couldn’t agree more.
“It’s like, how could you ever mistake a husky like that for a wolf,” said Harding.
She owns four huskies of her own and loves the breed so much, she even dedicated a Facebook page to them.
“She’s poaching. She’s hurting our hunting community by posting that she went out looking for one specific animal and shooting a different one,” Harding said.
The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
The sheriff tells MTN the dog was one of at least a dozen that someone abandoned in the Doris Creek area, all husky and shepherd mixes. Animal Control was able to pick up 11 of the dogs but it was too late for the husky.
The sheriff’s department has identified the woman and FWP is now investigating whether she had the proper hunting license.
“We are looking into that aspect of it but it’s not really clear what the outcome of that investigation will be,” Lemon said.
