How to identify a wolf track: grey wolf track identification - Canis lupus

There have been wolf reports in the UK. Mostly in newspapers and those accounts come from people who have no idea what a wolf looks like.  

"I've just seen a wolf go through my garden!" turns out to be a darker coloured fox.  

"I was walking my dog and looked over into the field and there was a wolf! It was moving about sniffing -biggest thing I've ever seen!" It was, in fact, the farmer's dog, 

It goes on an on. The late Mike Sherborne (ex Bristol Zoo keeper and member of the Association of British Wild Animal Keepers -ABWAK) once told me of a man who was reported for keeping wolves in a yard next to his business premises.  There was a check and no one was licensed to keep wolves in the area. The DEFRA licensing man, accompanied by and RSPCA inspector went to the site and started taking photographs of what were "definitely wolves" wandering about a yard. A call wasput in to police and in due course up turned two policemen who "took a peek". Both burst out laughing and called the RSPCA and DEFRA man a number of names. "They're ------- German Shepherds!" said one policeman who could hardly contain his laughter. Turned out there were three German Shepherd dogs who were quite soppy and used to guard the stores -just their appearance was enough to scare off potential thieves.

A black fox sighted was described "I thought it was a wolf!" It was a melanistic fox and the fact that someone in the 21st century cannot identify a fox (even a melanistic one) says a lot.