BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) — Trail runners in the Boise Foothills are reportedly seeing wolf tracks in the Boise Foothills.
Israel Shirk, an avid runner, told KBOI 2News that he spotted what he believes are wolf tracks while running Hard Guy trail at about 3,600 feet in elevation Monday morning.
"I saw three really clear sets going north towards the ridge that followed the trail for about a mile and more on the way down," Shirk said. "They were really fresh."
Another runner posted on social media that he spotted wolf tracks in the Dry Creek area last week.
Evin O'Neale, regional conservation education with the Idaho Fish and Game said he'd be skeptical if there were wolves in the foothills right now.
"Wolf tracks are a little tricky and with the snow they may look much larger," O'Neale said.
It's not unheard of, however, for wolves to be reported in the foothills.
"They do venture down into the foothills from time to time, but they like to avoid people and it would surprise me if they were down here."
Fish and Game has yet to receive any official reports of wolf sightings in the surrounding mountains.
But Shirk says he's pretty confident about what he spotted.
"Typically, dogs don't travel in organized formations for long distances; these had one off the trail to the left, one in center, and one to the right, and continued in that formation without variation (which only wolves have done around me in person)," he said. "Coyotes and dogs mill about; wolves keep a consistent direction and order to the pack. "
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