Awooooo...
October 28, 2020 1:28 PM Subscribe
The Voyageurs Wolf Project is examining the predation behavior and reproductive ecology of wolves in Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park in summer months. Along with research findings, its website and Youtube channel contain numerous photos and videos, including wolves feeding on wild blueberries, wolves chasing off a bear that got too close to their den, and a dancing bear with bonus moose butt trailcam footage.
My favorite info was that they are adept fisherwolves.
posted by tavella at 3:44 PM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by tavella at 3:44 PM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Dammit! I was going to post about this a few months back and never got around to it. I love seeing the pack territories come into such clarity on this animated map [third item down on the Animations page]. In the spirit of the post title I’d like to also draw your attention to a 1-month-old cub howling near its den in this clip on the project’s YouTube channel.
My grandparents told us about wolves following them in the fields when they would rake hay on their farm about 170 miles south of Voyageurs. The opportunistic wolves would catch and eat mice and other rodents that were stirred up by the machinery. This news tickled me as a kid because mice-eating wolves was a major plot point in Never Cry Wolf and because back in the 1980s wolves supposedly didn’t range that far south in Minnesota, within an hour’s drive of the Twin Cities.
And I see there’s breaking news from the Cranberry Bay pack, whose breeding male set a record by catching and eating 36 beavers between May 1 and Oct 14. That’s a lot, but since colonies in the area have about 5 beavers each and there are over 150 colonies just in the Cranberry Bay wolf pack territory alone, this doesn’t represent a threat to their population.
posted by theory at 5:54 PM on October 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
My grandparents told us about wolves following them in the fields when they would rake hay on their farm about 170 miles south of Voyageurs. The opportunistic wolves would catch and eat mice and other rodents that were stirred up by the machinery. This news tickled me as a kid because mice-eating wolves was a major plot point in Never Cry Wolf and because back in the 1980s wolves supposedly didn’t range that far south in Minnesota, within an hour’s drive of the Twin Cities.
And I see there’s breaking news from the Cranberry Bay pack, whose breeding male set a record by catching and eating 36 beavers between May 1 and Oct 14. That’s a lot, but since colonies in the area have about 5 beavers each and there are over 150 colonies just in the Cranberry Bay wolf pack territory alone, this doesn’t represent a threat to their population.
posted by theory at 5:54 PM on October 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
This is such an amazing part of the country. I want it to stay untouched, but I also love that there are scientists doing good, data-driven research here (like the map of wolf territories derived from GPS tracks and kill sites).
posted by wenestvedt at 11:11 AM on October 29, 2020
posted by wenestvedt at 11:11 AM on October 29, 2020
MotherFUCKER.
Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:36 PM on October 29, 2020
Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:36 PM on October 29, 2020
The upcoming cull completely because a few sheep are getting killed. Redirect a minute fraction of 1% of the farm subsidy every year to compensation and leave the wolves to strengthen the ecosystem. Or heck go traditional and employ shepherds and/or sheep dogs. None of the farmers are going to be happy with anything less than complete eradication. That 10-15 years from now these populations will be extirpated or next to is practically guaranteed because that is the goal of one of the parties.
posted by Mitheral at 6:38 AM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 6:38 AM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
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posted by Hicksu at 1:44 PM on October 28, 2020 [8 favorites]