Trapping Wolves in Northern Minnesota

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GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. – Since January there have been more than 50 wolf complaints in Minnesota, a number that is double what it has been the past few springs.

They’re still listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act and it’s fair to say their population has rebounded.

“We’re well over 2,000 wolves now. We have one of the highest wolf densities in North America,” said Dan Stark a Large Carnivore Specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Stark said last year Grand Marais and Walker were hot spots for wolves, but this year they’re showing up in more populated areas.

“I think there has been more recent wolf activity around the Duluth area than there typically is,” said Stark.

The United States Department of Agriculture confirms more than 18 wolves have already been trapped this season in just the northern third of Minnesota.

“It’s just kind of an isolated area. It’s not a common thing occurring throughout the state or throughout wolf range,” explained Stark.

Last week we introduced you to Jim Stukel of Duluth, who encountered a hungry park of wolves while out running the trails with his dogs.

“It’s an unfortunate incident but you have to really be careful because they are so close to town. We’ve attracted the whole deer herd into our city so they can have a city deer hunt also and we feed deer so to expect that the predators wouldn’t come after them would be silly,” said Stukel.

According to the USDA, that’s exactly what may be happening .

The number of deer across the wolf range is less than normal meaning these territorial animals are hungrier than ever.

“As a wolf encounters that dog and there aren’t people around or maybe they’re even a little bit more bold and aggressive, they’re going to approach the dog and try to defend their turf,” said Stark.

While wolves are classified as threatened if they are causing conflicts with or near livestock or pets federal trapper can capture and kill them.

The Federal Government and State of Minnesota are splitting the $220,000 cost of the 2015 program.

The best advice the DNR shared is simple: don’t leave your pets unattended, don’t leave pet food outside and be aware of your surroundings.