Sitting down to write this week’s Nature Smart column, I first checked my email. And there it was, a half a dozen emails all with the same subject line: “06 gray shot and killed.” ...

A hunter in Calhoun County, Michigan, mistook a gray wolf for a coyote and killed it. The DNR is now asking for the public's help in reporting any wolf sightings in the Lower Peninsula.

The grey wolf, larger and more powerful, thrives in family-oriented packs and hunts large prey. In contrast, the coyote, smaller and more adaptable, often hunts alone or in smaller groups ...