When walking, a wolf places its hind foot in the track left by the front foot, whereas a dog's front and hind foot tracks do not overlap. A coyote's stride is 26-30 inches. They occur in areas lacking agriculture and urban development. Large conifer swamps often serve as rendezvous sites probably because of availability of dense cover and nearness to water sources. In Wisconsin, white-tailed deer are the primary prey.
Wolves also eat beaver and snowshoe hare.
In central Wisconsin, turkeys may also be important food items. Before Wisconsin was settled by Europeans in the 1830s, wolves lived throughout the state. Explorers, trappers, and settlers killed wolves for their fur, to eliminate the threat to livestock, and to eliminate the impact on white-tailed deer populations. During the 1970s, wolves dispersed to northern Wisconsin from a large wolf population in Minnesota. The establishment of breeding wolf packs in the state prompted their state listing in 1975.