Tag Archives: wolves

Minnesota wolf harvest surpasses 300 mark

Posted on by
Reply

Minnesota’s late-season wolf kill has surpassed the early season, and the northwest part of the state is the only region still open to hunting or trapping the animals.

According to the Department of Natural Resources, the late-season take as of this morning stood at 161. By comparison, 147 wolves were killed during the early season, which was limited to hunting only.

That brings the wolf kill to 308 so far.

The late season for hunting and trapping in the northeast and east-central parts of the state has been closed for several days now. In the northeast, which had a late-season quota of 56, the final tally was 58 wolves. The DNR closed the east-central zone, which had a late-season quota of 10 wolves, when the take hit nine.

Meanwhile, there still are plenty of opportunities for hunters and trappers to take a wolf in the northwest region, which has a higher quota. As of this morning, the kill in the northwest stood at 94, which is well short of the target of 187.

The DNR set a quota of 400 wolves — 200 early and 200 late — for this year’s inaugural managed season. The early season harvest was 53 short, and so the DNR added the number to the late season, meaning hunters and trappers could take 253 wolves.

The late season, while closed in the northeast and east-central zones, continues through Jan. 31 unless the northwest quota of 187 is filled before that time.

For more information on the season, including up-to-date harvest numbers, go to www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/wolf/index.html.

Minnesota late-season wolf update

Posted on by
Reply

Hunters and trappers in Minnesota have killed 58 wolves as of this afternoon in the late season that began Nov. 24. In northwest Minnesota, 30 wolves have been taken, followed by 25 in the northeast and three in east-central Minnesota. The target harvest in the northwest is 187, while the northeast target is 56 and the quota for east-central Minnesota is 10. The late season will continue through Jan. 31 or until the quota is met. For more information on Minnesota’s wolf season, including the latest harvest updates, click here.

 

Minnesota wolf season update

Posted on by
Reply

Hunters had killed 74 wolves as of this morning in Minnesota’s inaugural wolf season, including 34 in the northwest part of the state and 32 in the northeast.

The Department of Natural Resources closed the season in the east-central part of the state on Monday after a hunter registered the eighth wolf, just one short of the zone’s target quota of nine.

Minnesota’s wolf season opened Saturday.

While the Northwest Zone has produced the largest number of registered wolves to date, it’s a big region. With that in mind, I contacted John Erb, a furbearer research biologist for the Department of Natural resources in Grand Rapids, Minn., to see if harvest information was available for more specific areas, such as Kittson or Roseau counties, which historically have had a high incidence of livestock depredation problems with wolves.

Erb said the DNR won’t have more specific location data until the early and late wolf seasons end, although the agency might try to compile a summary after the first season closes. The early wolf season coincides with the deer season, which ends Sunday in 200-series permit areas and Nov. 18 in 100-series permit areas farther east.

A late season that also includes trapping opens Nov. 24 and continues through Jan. 31 unless specific target harvests are reached before that time.

Erb said the online registration, which is required for all license holders who kill a wolf, only records the zone where the animal is taken. County and section data isn’t available until the carcasses are brought in for inspection, Erb said, and data sheets still are scattered around various area wildlife offices.

“It will take some time to collate them, enter data and map it out,” Erb said.

The DNR offered 3,600 licenses for the early season, which is limited to hunting, and 2,400 for the late season, which also includes trapping. The harvest quota for both seasons is 400 wolves — 265 in the Northwest Zone, 117 in the Northeast and 18 in the East-Central Zone.

More information about Minnesota’s wolf season, including the latest harvest numbers, is  available here.