UNDATED (KDAL) – According to the Voyageurs Wolf Project, the population of wolves in far northern Minnesota has decreased by 19 percent in the previous year and is now at the lowest levels since the study began 11 years ago.
The University of Minnesota project researches the ecology of wolves in the greater Voyageurs ecosystem in the northern part of the state.
The substantial decrease in the number of wolves is most certainly a result of the deer population of the area that decreased by 50 percent after severe winters in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Responding to the decreased deer population, wolf pack territories have increased in size to about 56 square miles while two years ago the average pack territory was 37 square miles.
The wolf pup survival rate was only 20 percent in the past year.
Since deer populations have increased a bit over the past two years, wolf populations will likely begin to recover as well.
Get more information on the Voyageurs Wolf Project on their Facebook page.
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