To derive objective statistics we need figures. I can tell you the things I am hearing about wolf-deer interactions are the same as when I came into this game 30 years ago. The second of what are expected to be several sessions before the end of the summer took place here, following initial talks two weeks ago at St. Cloud. Wolf population in Minnesota has, according to the research of Mech and other biologists, climbed from less than a 1,00 in the 1960s to about 1,500 in the late-1980s, to more than 2,000 today. But along with that increase has come an expansion of the wolf range.
Wolves disperse from their family pack before they turn three years old and some roam far away.
Some, tracked by collars, have moved as far as 500 miles from their pack, going from northern Minnesota to locations such as northern Michigan and central Wisconsin. Mech said the population increase can be connected with the spreading out of the wolf range, andf that research shows that wolves feed on young, old, sick, and weak deer. Part of the presentation included a video of two wolves chasing down and killing an elk. Deer kills were just one issue raised by those fearful of wolves at public hearings around the state earlier this year. Some Minnesotans also feared for farm animals, family pets, even their children.