An endangered gray wolf shot to death in Utah was positively identified Wednesday as the female lobo seen last fall on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, the first of its kind to be seen in the region in half a century. The confirmation was made after geneticists compared DNA from the wolf killed in Utah with samples taken from the wolf near the Grand Canyon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used DNA analysis to confirm that the dead canine was the celebrated collared female known as “914F” that wandered hundreds of miles from the Northern Rockies. (Photo: Arizona Game and Fish Department) Story Highlights Geneticists compared DNA from dead wolf with samples taken near Grand Canyon 
 
 Hunter says he mistook the wolf for a coyote 
 
 Wolf was one of first seen in northern Arizona in decades 
 
 Officials have confirmed that the female gray wolf killed in December by a hunter in southern Utah is the same one that had traveled hundreds of miles from Wyoming to the Grand Canyon, where it became the first gray wolf seen in northern Arizona in 70 years. "It is nothing short of a tragedy that this wolf's journey across the west was cut short because she was shot and killed by a coyote hunter," Eva Sargent, director of Southwest Programs for Defenders of Wildlife, an advocacy group, said in a statement. “This brave and ambitious female gray wolf that made it all the way from Wyoming to the Grand Canyon had already become a symbol of what gray wolf recovery should look like – animals naturally dispersing to find suitable habitat.” 
 
 The tendency of hunters to mistake wolves for coyotes is a major issue, especially in California, where conservationists believe a pair of wolves and their offspring currently living across the Oregon border will eventually disperse. The federal government is now considering a proposal to strip Endangered Species Act protection from gray wolves throughout their range. Thanks to the reintroduction of wolves in 1995, Yellowstone National Park is one of the most favored places to see and hear wolves in their native habitat.
– Hundred of miles from its Wyoming home, "914F" wandered to the rocky North Rim of the Grand Canyon last fall—the first gray wolf spotted there in 70 years, the Arizona Republic notes—before heading into Utah, likely searching for food or a mate. But in December, the wolf's journey came to an end after a hunter there mistook her for a coyote and shot her dead, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Using DNA testing, the US Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed the 3-year-old collared animal was the same one seen at the Grand Canyon, the Republic notes. "It is nothing short of a tragedy that this wolf's journey across the west was cut short," Eva Sargent, a director for Defenders of Wildlife, tells the Chronicle. "This brave and ambitious female gray wolf … had already become a symbol of what gray wolf recovery should look like: animals naturally dispersing to find suitable habitat." Gray wolves weren't always isolated to certain parts of the country: All of North America used to be their home, Defenders of Wildlife notes, but they were killed off throughout much the US in the 1930s. What's worrying some animal advocates is that the federal government is considering removing endangered-species status from gray wolves in all regions: When they were delisted from the Northern Rockies, mass killings of the creatures took place in multiple states, including Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. "Sadly, with the US Fish and Wildlife Service preparing to remove all protections for gray wolves, except for Mexican gray wolves, in the near future, it will become harder and harder for wolves to travel safely, and less … likely that we will hear their howls echo through places like the Grand Canyon," Sargent tells the Chronicle. (Wolves could be hurt by a border fence.)