By: Sam Cook, Duluth News Tribune
Some professional hazing apparently has driven a litter of unwary wolf pups deeper into the woods near Brimson.
Since last Friday, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Brimson Volunteer Fire Department trucks have sounded their sirens and sprayed streams of water at the seven pups, hoping to discourage them from hanging out along the road and accepting hand-outs from passing drivers.
It’s working.
“Saturday morning is the last we’ve seen them,” said Jody Hepola, co-owner of Hugo’s Bar in Brimson.
The wolf pups had frequently been seen along the roads, in the parking lot at Hugo’s and in a camping area for the past month, said Jody and Gary Hepola. Some passers-by had been leaving food for the wolves, a practice that DNR wildlife officials discourage. Habituating wild animals to humans can lead to problems, they say.
“I’m really hoping we’ve turned the corner on this,” said Nancy Hansen, DNR assistant area wildlife manager for the DNR in Two Harbors.
Hansen said a DNR forestry fire truck was used to direct spray at one wolf pup last Friday. Since then, the DNR has enlisted the support of the local volunteer fire department, which has done the same.
“They were all willing to help out, and they worked through the weekend,” Hansen said. “They sprayed water a couple of times and ran the siren a couple of times. After that, they didn’t see wolves on the road.”
Local residents had grown concerned when some people were dumping food out of their car windows or leaving it alongside the road for the pups. One pup already had been struck and killed by a car, Gary Hepola said.
The pups, along with adult wolves, apparently had established what biologists call a rendezvous area near Hugo’s. When wolf pups are large enough to leave the den, they often move to a rendezvous area during the summer and early fall, said Dan Stark, DNR large carnivore specialist in Grand Rapids.
Stark initiated the idea of spraying the wolves with water and using sirens to disperse them, Hansen said.