SANDPOINT - The operator of a wolf advocacy center regrets not reporting the escape of a wolf hybrid, but said she feared it would have resulted in an automatic death sentence for the animal.

Cryco, a 14-year-old arctic and timber wolf cross, dug out of its enclosure at a Wolf People facility in Cocolalla in June. But the escape was never reported to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

The animal was subsequently spotted roaming the Hoodoo Valley, jangling the nerves of residents and inflaming the debate over wolf management in the West.

Nancy Taylor, founder of Wolf People, said she likely would have done things differently in retrospect, but was afraid news of the escape would result in a shoot-on-sight order.

"I knew this is exactly what would happen. What's happening is exactly what I thought would happen," said Taylor, founder of the Cocolalla group.

Immediately after news broke of the escape last month, Taylor said somebody tacked up a homemade flier at the Vay Cafe encouraging residents to shoot the animal as soon as they encountered it.

Fish and Game has been accused of verbally issuing a shoot-on-sight order for the animal, although the department said the accusation is off the mark.

"All we're saying is that it's not a wild wolf so it doesn't come under the auspices of wolf-hunting regulations. It's essentially a feral animal. If somebody's threatened by it, that's an option they have," Chip Corsi, Fish and Game's Panhandle supervisor, said of shooting the escaped predator.

Fish and Game confronted Taylor on whether the wolf spotted in the Hoodoo Valley came from Wolf People, but she said Cryco was dead. Taylor said she told Fish and Game the animal was dead because she thought it truly was.

Taylor said Cryco had renal failure and had been raised in captivity. Taylor doubted the ill animal could survive in the wild on its own.

Nevertheless, Wolf People handlers went to the Hoodoo Valley to try and coax Cryco back without success.

"We were out hunting day and night. We've followed up on every single lead," Taylor said.

Taylor said there have been no sightings of Cryco for the last two weeks, feeding suspicion that it died of natural or unnatural causes, or had moved on to another area.

There have been reports that Cryco was in the company of another wolf some think is also a Wolf People escapee, but Taylor insists only one wolf - Cryco - has ever escaped from the facility in more than 20 years of operation in Bonner County.

Taylor said Cryco poses no threat to residents in the Hoodoo Valley.

"He's very, very sweet and loves people," she said. "That is probably going to be his downfall."

Wolf People's operations are regulated by Fish and Game and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. The repercussions of the escape and its aftermath remain unclear.

Corsi said his department is still weighing its options.

"Obviously there is a permit issue out there that could be affected or it could go through a court system. I'm not sure how this is going to play out," Corsi said.

Fish & Game has been accused of verbally issuing a shoot-on-sight order for the animal, although the department said the accusation is off the mark.

"All we're saying is that it's not a wild wolf so it doesn't come under the auspices of wolf-hunting regulations. It's essentially a feral animal. If somebody's threatened by it, that's an option they have," Chip Corsi, Fish & Game's Panhandle supervisor, said of shooting the escaped predator.

Fish & Game confronted Taylor on whether the wolf spotted in the Hoodoo Valley came from Wolf People, but she said Cryco was dead. Taylor said she told Fish & Game the animal was dead because she thought it truly was.

Taylor said Cryco had renal failure and had been raised in captivity. Taylor doubted the ill animal could survive in the wild on its own.

Nevertheless, Wolf People handlers went to the Hoodoo Valley to try and coax Cryco back without success.

"We were out hunting day and night. We've followed up on every single lead," Taylor said.

Taylor said there have been no sightings of Cryco for the last two weeks, feeding suspicion that it died of natural or unnatural causes, or had moved on to another area.

There have been reports that Cryco was in the company of another wolf some think is also a Wolf People escapee, but Taylor insists only one wolf - Cryco - has ever escaped from the facility in more than 20 years of operation in Bonner County.

Taylor said Cryco poses no threat to residents in the Hoodoo Valley.

"He's very, very sweet and loves people," she said. "That is probably going to be his downfall."

Wolf People's operations are regulated by Fish & Game and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. The repercussions of the escape and its aftermath remain unclear.

Corsi said his department is still weighing its options.

"Obviously there is a permit issue out there that could be affected or it could go through a court system. I'm not sure how this is going to play out," Corsi said.