Article by: MARY LYNN SMITH , Star Tribune
DNR says more than 100 taken, population survey needed.
Minnesota hunters have killed more than 100 wolves in the first eight days of a controversial hunting season that opened Nov. 3.
The state’s Department of Natural Resources has set a limit of 200 wolves that can be taken during the early half of a two-part season. That initial season ends Sunday.
“I don’t think we’ll reach 200,” by then, DNR wolf specialist Dan Stark said Monday.
That’s because most deer hunters are done for the season, DNR officials said. And that means fewer hunters will be out in the woods this week.
“Most [people] who are hunting wolves in the early season are doing it while deer hunting,” Stark said. “People take time off of work, and the majority of deer hunters are out the first two or three days of the season. After that, the numbers fall down.”
The DNR issued 3,600 permits for the early wolf-hunting season and 2,400 permits for a second season to run from Nov. 24 to Jan. 31, that one open to trappers as well as hunters. If fewer than 200 wolves are killed during the first season, the second season’s limit will be increased by the deficit number for a total of no more than 400 for both seasons.
By Monday evening, the DNR had reported 119 wolves killed in the three wolf-hunting zones. The hunt was closed Nov. 5 in one of them, the east-central zone, because eight wolves had been killed there, close to the limit of nine set for that area. In the northeast zone, 53 wolves have been killed, nearing the quota of 58. The third zone is in the state’s northwest, where 58 wolves have been taken; the quota there is 133.
Before the wolf hunt began, Stark estimated that 70 wolves would be taken in the early season. But the estimate was merely a guess based on hunts in other states.
Any number of factors could affect the hunt in Minnesota compared to other states, he said.
“The results are what they are at this point,” he said. “We sold 3,600 licenses and we took [119] wolves. That’s about as much info we know for sure. … We can’t draw a lot of conclusions at this point until we have all the data and we do additional surveys with hunters.”
Among the anecdotal stories he’s heard about the wolf hunt, Stark said most of the wolves were killed by hunters who had gone into the woods looking for deer.
“Some have been surprised to have even seen a wolf. They’ve heard wolves in the past and seen signs of wolves in the area, so they bought a license on the off chance they might have an opportunity,” Stark said. “They’ve been surprised that they did.”
But people shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that there are more wolves out there than what had been estimated, DNR officials said.
“It’s way too early to do that,” said Steve Merchant, the interim head of the DNR’s wildlife management section. A survey of the wolf population will be done this winter, he said.
The last survey done in 2008 estimated the state’s wolf population at 3,000, Merchant said.
“We have other indices that indicate wolves are slightly increasing, but we don’t put as much stock into those numbers as we do the actual wolf survey,” he said.
One of the “big unknowns” that has to be resolved is how much the wolf hunt was affected by having large numbers of deer hunters in the woods “stirring things up,” Merchant said.
“We just didn’t have anything to compare it to,” he said. “Low harvest rates in the western states and Canada simply don’t have the amount of deer-hunter disturbance that we do.”
Minnesota has more deer hunters than most states, although Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have more, he said.
“We think this early season that a lot of the people who are wolf hunting are also deer hunting so they may be more motivated to stay out longer because they want to get a deer,” Merchant said. “But we don’t know yet. We’re just speculating.”
Hunter surveys may answer that question as well as determine how many hunters were in the woods focusing their hunt on wolves.
“Or are they just sitting in a deer stand waiting for a wolf to come by,” Stark said. “One thing that affects success rates is hunter effort. … If you’re just hunting opportunistically, you’re not going to have as a high of a success rate as you would if you go out there and try to call or attract wolves to a site using bait.”
The Minnesota hunt has outraged wolf protectionists throughout the country who fought to stop it, arguing that the DNR is being overzealous in allowing “trophy hunting and recreational trapping” just months after the wolf was taken off the federal endangered species list this year.
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Graphic: Interactive graphic: Wolf hunting season in Minn.
Monday November 12, 2012
So far more than 100 wolves have been taken in the first of two wolf…