An unusual animal in an unexpected place

The Associated Press has an article at Weather.com about a wolf who apparently wandered south:

Officials say a wolf-like animal has been spotted and photographed in northern Arizona this week. The Fish and Wildlife Service reports that the animal, which resembles a gray wolf, has been seen at the Kaibab National Forest, north of the Grand Canyon.
The animal is said to sport a collar similar to those worn by wolves that are part of a recovery effort in the Northern Rockies. A gray wolf would be a rarity in this area of North America.
Agency spokesman Jeff Humphrey says the animal could be from that population, which now numbers seventeen hundred, or is a lone wolf-dog hybrid. Officials plan to test fecal matter from the animal to help investigate its origins. Humphrey says the animal should be treated as endangered until more is known about it. "Our immediate concern is the welfare of this animal," Humphrey said.
A group of fewer than a hundred endangered Mexican gray wolves lives in portions of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico, but Humphrey said the animal does not appear to be from that population. Wolves in the Northern Rockies have fuller bodies and less pointed ears than Mexican gray wolves.
Wolves largely were exterminated early last century across the lower 48 states, except in the western Great Lakes area. They've been absent from the Grand Canyon region since the 1940s.
The Fish and Wildlife Service in recent years lifted protections for the animals in the western Great Lakes and the Northern Rockies. A federal judge recently ordered the protections re-instated in Wyoming after wildlife advocates sued.
Grand Canyon Superintendent Dave Uberuaga said the park has received a couple of reports about an animal that resembles a wolf at the North Rim. He said park officials will be on the lookout for it. Wolves often roam vast distances in search of food and mates. Packs from the Northern Rockies have been found as far south as Wyoming.
Environmentalists said the confirmed presence of a gray wolf around the Grand Canyon would be welcome news, but remain concerned about a proposal to remove them from a list of protected species.
"There's an increasing number of people who have learned about the pivotal role wolves play in natural ecosystems, know they have been persecuted relentlessly over decades and cheer the return of wolves," said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity. "And there are people who are fearful, concerned, and opposed."
Nancy Gloman of Defenders of Wildlife said the group would like to see wolves in suitable habitat from Canada to Mexico.

Rico says it'd be nice to hear wolves howling (though his cats would hate it)...