Wolves howl on a trail in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources, file)

LANSING – Public attitudes toward wolves are split in the Upper Peninsula, a new study finds, with more than 60% of residents surveyed favoring reducing wolf abundance, motivated mostly by worry about risks to livestock, white-tailed deer and human safety.

However, those who valued the ecological role of wolves were less likely to support cutting their numbers, according to the study, “Social and Ecological Influences on Human Coexistence with Gray Wolves,” in the journal Conservation Science and Practice.

“Perceived risks, particularly to deer, strongly influenced attitudes,” the study said.

The Wolf Conservation Center, based in New York, reported the U.P. has at least 762 wolves in

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