Brain, craniofacial, and dental lesions of a free-ranging gray wolf (Canis lupus) implicated in a human attack in minnesota, USA

We describe significant brain, craniofacial, and dental lesions in a freeranging wolf (Canis lupus) involved in a human attack. On postmortem examination, the wolf presented asymmetric atrophy and bone remodeling affecting the mandible, incisive, maxilla, lacrimal, palatine, frontal, and ethmoid bones. There was an asymmetrical skeletal malocclusion and dental abnormalities including rotated, malpositioned, partially erupted teeth, and an odontogenic cyst asso‐ ciated with an unerupted canine tooth. Brain changes were bilateral loss and atrophy of extensive cortex regions including olfactory bulb, peduncles, and tract, and the frontal lobe. We highlight the relevance of a thorough postmortem examination of wildlife to eluci‐ date disease-based abnormal behavior as the reason for human-animal conflict.