Wolves are well known for their ability to travel hundreds of miles from home.

But getting from eastern Canada to western Massachusetts would be no small feat. An Eastern wolf would have to cross the St. Lawrence River and survive a gantlet of traps and snares north of the U.S. border before passing through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Or at least that’s one theory.

The confirmation this week that an 85-pound male canid shot last fall on a Massachusetts farm was a wild Eastern gray wolf is seen by some as further proof of an alternative theory. Wolves may already be living and breeding in New England, perhaps in northern Maine.

At the very least, the encounter shows that the animals could resettle here someday soon – if we let them.

The wolf in Sherburne, Mass., was killed after it mauled 13 lambs and sheep. State wildlife officials gave the farmer a green light to shoot after deciding it couldn't be a wolf, a federally protected species.

There had not been a wolf in Massachusetts in 160 years, but as many as six others have been killed in Maine, Vermont and New York in the past 15 years, said John Glowa, a founder of the Maine Wolf Coalition.

“How many more wolves have to be killed before the state and federal governments get serious about this and protect them?” Glowa said.

The coalition filed a petition last year calling for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to increase protections and spend more time looking for wolves instead of downplaying the possibility that they’re here.

“It was not an anomaly. It’s part of a clear pattern,” he said. “It’s likely there’s a population here and they’re breeding. That’s my opinion ... We’ve got too many dead animals.”

Wildlife advocates reacted to the latest news by making plans to step up their own searches, often done by listening for howls on clear, still nights. Glowa said he hopes the latest incident will get the governments to take the issue more seriously, too.

Mark McCollough, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Old Town, said the animals showing up here may still be individuals traveling far from home. “At this time, there’s no evidence of a breeding population of animals in the northeast,” he said.

But he agreed it can’t be ruled out.

“We probably aren’t looking as well as we could. Five or six years ago we had more funding,” said McCollough, who saw for himself what looked like wolf tracks north of Moosehead Lake in 2005. “We’re trying to put together funding.”

The recent return of Canada lynx to Maine and the fact that bald eagles now nest in Maine’s most developed counties have proven that animals can adapt and coexist. The bigger question seems to be whether people can.

Wolves that cross the Canadian border into northern New England should be home free. There’s good habitat, lots of prey and the full protection of federal law, which makes killing them a crime.

“We still seem to do a pretty good job of shooting them when they get here.” McCollough said. “Maybe they’ll re-establish themselves. They could probably use a little help from us as well.”

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