Tahane, the 16-year-old wolf, fled the Seacrest Wolf Preserve in Chipley during the storm last week

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A Florida animal preserve is offering an $800 reward for the safe return of a wolf that escaped during Hurricane Michael and is on the run in the state – and pleading with anyone who sees him not to shoot him.

The Seacrest Wolf Preserve in Chipley, Florida, said the 16-year-old wolf named Tahane fled during the storm last week.

“He experienced extreme stress during the storm. Trees were crashing down. A giant oak fell on his fencing, and he fled in terror,” the preserve’s co-founder Cynthia Watkins said in a Facebook video. “He’s running for his life.”

Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle as a category 4 storm last week, causing widespread destruction.

Watkins said Tahane has been used in educational programs with visitors for years, and will not hurt humans.

“Thousands of people have handled Tahane and know him,” she said. “Please do not shoot this wolf. He is no danger to anyone. He is like someone’s pet, but he is fleeing in traumatic stress.”

The wolf has been spotted south of the preserve in the Holmes Valley area, officials said, asking anyone who sees him to contact the preserve with his location so he can be tranquilized and brought back.

“He is a victim of this terrible natural disaster,” Watkins said. “He deserves to be captured humanely and brought back to the wolf preserve.”