CHOCTAW, Okla. — Residents of the Choctaw Creek neighborhood in Choctaw are getting used to seeing her by now.
“Our neighborhood wolf pet out here, yeah,” said Mitchell Melton. “Not aggressive, but won’t let you go up and pet her.”
“My daughter calls her Wolfie,” said Philip Chicoine.
Choctaw animal control officer Kenny Grant says he’s always a few steps behind her.
“Been trying to catch her for a year and a half, two years now and I can’t, I mean, I’ve tried live traps,” said Officer Grant. “The moment she seen me, she take off, run into the woods.”
Another Choctaw officer, Belen Rodriguez, just snapped a shot of the wolf about two weeks ago.
“As soon as I took the pictures, I sent it to my chief and I was look, I got to see the wolf!” said Officer Rodriguez.
Officer Grant says he’s not sure why the wolf is drawn to the city instead of the wild.
“Maybe she feels at home here. Maybe she likes Choctaw,” said Grant.
Neighbors say the wolf has never threatened them or their animals.
Officer Grant says if he ever catches her, he’ll take her somewhere that’s safer for her.
“Probably take her further out in the country and turn her loose, let her live her life away from people,” he said.
“I would like it to be caught before something happens to it,” said Chicoine.
Residents say she’s become sort of a fixture in their day to day life and until she’s caught, they’ll enjoy this glimpse of the wild in the middle of their city.
Officer Grant says the wolf is actually probably a half breed.
And he says this is not the only wild animal he’s tracking right now. He says he’s seen a black panther in their city recently.
So far, no one’s snapped any pictures of that animal.