Nevada wildlife officials launched a huge investigation after spotting three animals believed to be wolves, which do not normally live in the state.

In 2017, a single gray wolf was documented in Nevada near the California line west of the Black Rock Desert about 120 miles (193 km) north of Reno. It later was determined to be a lone visitor related to the Shasta pack in northern California. Before then, the last confirmed Nevada sighting of a wolf was in 1922, near Elko County’s Gold Creek.

After animals spotted from a helicopter over Nevada were suspected to be wolves, extensive DNA testing of hair, scat and urine samples proved that they were just coyotes.

There are surprisingly many differences between coyotes vs. wolves. A rare wolf sighting in Nevada led experts to conduct DNA testing on a trio of coyotes.