Timberwolves strike in NW MN

Hey all. last night within a half mile of our house, less than 75 yards from the highway, and in the middle of an open field, Timberwolves caught a yearling fawn in its bed and killed it. The fawn was laying about 35 yeards from the road before the T-wolves found it. The wolves drug the fawn 100 yards out in to the middle of the field and proceded to dispose of it. How long do we have before the wolves take our dog? My little brothers? Me when im walking out of the woods after hunting? There have been many stories going around our county of wolves hunting people... 1 50 yards to the right, same to the left, and 1 behind...

Never, us as humans continue this ignorance towards wolves for no reason. What people do not understand is that wolves HATE humans and their presense. In WI, research has been conducted and shown that wolves will not make a den site closer than a mile to paved roads. Another astounding fact is that wolves do not kill all of your deer like assumed. Last season (this season too) i took part in the WI deer herd study in Shicton and Winter. Of the 500 animals collared as of last spring, 100 had died. Mortality was caused by humans (50), black bear(34), wolves(4), coyote (4), bobcat (2), and the final 6 were undeterminable. Obviously, you have more of a threat from bears than anything. And of course if any of these stories held any legitimacy the Minnesota DNR would have taken action, i mean they kill whole packs that stalk/harass cattle right?

Actually the MN DNR don't do as much as they should. My dad is the cheif deputy of Kittson County. He would get complaints on the DNR because of them NOT responding to the wolf kills. The law stated that if the Wolf kill (on a cow or other livestock) was not reported to the DNR within 24 hours (or 48 Not 100% sure) and was inspected within that time period. The farmer was not given any compensation for the loss of that animal. The farmers in our area lost $40,000 (?) worth of cattle under that program in one year. The DNR were either on vacation during that time period, OR if they did make out to the kill scene they would claim that the cow got struck by lightining and was eaten on by the farmers own dog. So my dad contacted the MN Sheriffs Association and had the law changed. Now, in MN, if/when a farmer loses an animal to a timberwolf he can also call his local Sheriff's office to come investigate. Since then all cattle kills in our county have been handled promptly.



As for killing wolves... In the wolves Northern range in MN, (which spans from our county to Saint Cloud to Deluth.) the DNR claim that there ar only 3000 T-wolves. It is tough to guess on a number of wolves in vast area. So in reality there could be 2000 to 12000 wolves in the northern range. I suspect it is closer to the latter. Anyway State and Federal trappers killed 200+ wolves last year. 26 in our county alone. 9 off of one farmers land. Now they have a wolf season. The DNR will sell 6,000 (?) wolf tags at $100 a pop. But once 400 are filled the season is over.



So, let's be optimistic. If there are only 2,000 wolves in MN, and 600 are killed that leaves us with 1,400. at a minimum of 1 deer a week per wolf (normally 2) that means that in the course of a year.... 72,800 deer were eaten by timbers this year in MN. Did the DNR do enough??? I DON'T THINK SO!!! I used to be able to see 25-40 deer a night hunting... I have seen 5 deer ALL season. Less than amile from our house I could drive by and count over 100 deer in a field now it is around 10-15.





Watch this video to see what happened when they brought wolves to Yellowstone.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwrZVwEmGbY

If that is the case then those farmers should consider a lawsuit, if the law stated it and nothing was done about it then you would have a pretty strong case. I mean the rest of us would lose our jobs right?



Claiming wolves kill all of your deer is greed. Much of my state feels the same way, I just dont see it. During wisconsins first weekend of the 9 day gun hunt 243k deer were harvested. With a total harvest generally 400-550k just for gun season. Throw in bow, muzzleloader, and cars and we are talking huge numbers. We as humans expect to see a huge turnover year after year, its not possible! Wolves are also pack animals (2-8) and as a pack they kill 1-2 deer a week, but think about it, do they really only eat deer? Do our deer only eat corn or beans? Wolves are top tier predators and are needed for a smooth ecosystem. In WI only a few spots left where we can find Cedar regeneration, while the trees stand no younger trees are suriving thanks to high deer browse.



The same thing with your video. Density of elk in Yellowstone was beyond carrying capactiy. As a result of elks browse on vegatation, especially in lower elevations soil deteriation and stream erosion was high, other species could not handle the conditions and disappeared from yellowstone. Thus, defeating the entire purpose of Yellowstone! By bringing back wolves, populations became balanced and life returned to yellowstone.



How many bears you got in MN by the way?

Dillan it sounds like you have some work to do. That animal that close to my house,family,pets would be taken care of. I believe you should stop posting on this subject and do what ya have to do!! Good Luck.



Just a side note, I am dealing with kinda the same things with a pack of yotes that moved in on our 700 acres! They are being.. Well you can figure that out!

bear population in the state of Wisconsin is est at 22,000,

Wolves est. is between 815-880. Of course bears will kill alot more





Weekly News article published: June 19, 2012 by the Central Office



PARK FALLS, Wis. -- Wisconsin’s gray wolf population at the close of the 2011-2012 winter was estimated to be 815-880, a roughly 4 percent increase over the 2010-2011 end-of-winter estimate. A total of 41-42 wolves were counted on Native American reservations and thus the total count of wolves outside of reservations was 774-838 wolves. A late winter population of 350 wolves outside reservations is the current state wolf population goal for Wisconsin.





Wisconsin is home to a thriving black bear population estimated at more than 22,000. The black bear's primary range is located in the far northern third of the state. However, bear numbers in recent years have expanded south as well. In fact, due to a growing population, bears are becoming much more common in the lower two-thirds of the state than ever before

Ry-O.... I have to completely disagree with you. Wolves take alot more deer more than 4 %. Th problem is the state does not count deer under 1 year of age in their studies. Wolves kill a majority of the fawns. Around here our fawn recruitment is around 10-15 % of the total deer population. Also they have been killing around 95-98% of the young of the year moose in MN. The deer can support a larger wolf population than the moose herd and we can see that in moose numbers in MN. The same problem becomes apparent in the elk herds out west. The recruitment of young of the year animals is way down.

As far as wolves not killing people...



"Wolves kill teacher in Alaska

Villagers in Chignik Lake on the Alaska Peninsula take precautions after the first known fatal wolf attack in U.S. in modern times."



http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/13/nation/la-na-wolf-attack13-2010mar13



It is a mistake to think wolves and people can coexist at current population levels. The only way it's going to work is for the human population to drop back down to pre 1900 levels or the wolf population to drop back to early 1900's levels. Wolves will eat the deer until they get hungry then they will eat whatever else they have to. It's what carnivores do. You can look at any other carnivore population. When they run out of prey they switch prey.

Ry-O, let me back up a little bit.... As a deer hunter I am very concerned and fed-up with the current managment in MN. Here is what has been going on. When I first started hunting about 7-8 years ago we were allowed to shoot 3 deer each. 1 buck and 2 does. I would hunt and only take 1 or 2 deer while sitting with my dad and filling his tags. since I was to young to purchase my own. When I was old enough to by my own tags we were allowed to shoot 5 deer each. 1 buck and four does. after purchasing 1 doe tag for around 20 dollars the rest were 2$ each. After 3-4 years of this we noticed a decline in the deer population. The DNR then switched to 2 deer a piece. again 1 buck and 1 doe. Notice a trend here? No limit on buck tags. This year you are guranteed 1 buck tag. and you have to apply for doe tags. I did not apply. In our county we are allowed to harvest 600 does.... There are not 600 does in the entire county. But there is still no limit on buck tags. So forget Timbers. The DNR have destroyed deer hunting. In MN only 11% of the population hunts. But the entire Timber wolf population hunts... If we would (as hunters) dont figure this out The MN Deer herd will die out.



However, as a deer farmer I like the rise in T-wolves as long as they leave the fence alone. Here's why: I was told that WI deer farmers annually make 170 million dollars all together. MN deer farmers make around 17 million. See the difference? with less deer in the wild MN there are more people wanting to hunt in preserves. We have a neighbor just down the road (4 miles) express interest. to the point of almost putting down a payment. There is a guy in our church that is going to do it. These arn't the usual rich customers that a lot of farms get. these are just regular hard working Americans who are tired of the DNR and its games.



As for our bear population... We are considered to live in a heavily populated area. Which means there might be 100 in the county. The tag system is BOGO (buy 1 get 1 free) no limit.



And Moose! Look up Karlstead MN the Moose capital of the North. I have seen 1 moose on our land in 18 years. The DNR claim that a brain worm killed all the moose... Yeah right, more Timbers than anything.



I will spend a lot of time varmit hunting this year. IN MN Coyotes are a kill on sight animal... and that is leagal.

Well if we are going to talk about Yellowstone I'll throw my two cents in here. When wolves were introduced we had a little over 30,000 elk in Yellowstone. Here are the current stats. We have 3000 to 5000 elk in yellowstone now. Less than 1% of the calves reach one year old due to wolves and bears. I really doubt that 1% will keep any herd nunbers up until we harvest some wolves to protect the elk herd. Montana used to be the State to hunt in because of the good number of animal harvested but now with wolves as the top predator we have lost the number of huntable animals. Like the poster above figure out the number of animals the wolves have to kill to live. Also the wolves are like any dog and will kill for fun and eat nothing from that animal.

I think the root cause is being overlooked , there are no trappers..... letting one part of the ecosystem run wild will always overwhelm the other

Dillan, your exactly right its an issue with our states. My situtation is much like yours, when i first started hunting i would see 10-15 a night. After the state hit the panic button with CWD everything was wiped out (except where CWD is). Now, im lucky if i see one doe every two nights i hunt. And also to add, i hunt SE WI where wolves are not present. This is also much the reason i am in school for wildlife and working in the deer industry...its time for a change on many levels.



Fars, in wisconsin we tag and collar individuals of all age classes.They are fit with radio collars, and does recieve ******l implants. Upon birthing in spring researchers are able to then locate tag/collar fawns. Of course you are welcome disagree with me all you like, and im not trying to argue its just the data i was apart of and interpreted...and one case of human death i dont think is enough evidence to justify their extinction. I mean wolves have never been extripated from MN and humans have been inhabitating that area for quite some time now with out incidents.

I drove around our land and found tracks following our fence in our fourwheeler tracks less than 5 ft. from the fence. A minimum of 2 adult wolves walked next to our fence for a quarter mile. That is too close for comfort.

I wonder how they taste! I have had bear but no wolf.

Here is one that was shot a week ago near Strandquist MN, which is about 30 miles away.

that's not a purebred timber wolf they are all gray/white/brown combo any all black , white or cream color are dog cross

Why do people want to live in the "wild" areas then kill that what makes it wild ???



I have had wolves around my deer for ever never a problem, wolves are the easily deterred... coyotes on the other hand are relentless.

CurtisLloyd said:

Why do people want to live in the "wild" areas then kill that what makes it wild ???



I have had wolves around my deer for ever never a problem, wolves are the easily deterred... coyotes on the other hand are relentless.

Click to expand...

Lol Curtis , I agree it's silly to think you are going to move out in the sticks and the animals are not educated about your suburban oasis you want to create in THEIR back yard! Lol

The difference between bear and wolf kills is that bears kill to eat. A wolf will kill for the thrill of killing. They often only eat a small portion of the animal they kill before moving on to the next kill. The only threat the wolf has is from humans, so we must hunt and trap them to keep things in check if our wildlife agencies insist on reintroducing them. Seems like things were doing just fine without them since as someone stated bears and other predators go after the deer, we didn't need wolves too. They have gotten some of the elk herd they are trying to reintroduce here as well. You know, sometimes things go extinct for a reason and we don't have to have some of everything everywhere!

Thank God we dont have a wolf population here in Illinois, our wild deer here are already in enough trouble the way it is. The way thing's are heading in the county I live in I think we will be lucky to see a deer in another couple years.