Wolves in the North Woods
 

I've been to northern Minnesota four times but have never seen or heard a wolf though it has the largest wolf population in the Lower 48. Their habitat is the vast forests with lakes in Voyageurs National Park, the Boundary Waters and Itasca State Park. I canoed the Boundary Waters and camped in Itasca but only saw a black bear. Has anyone heard or seen any wolves in N. Minnesota?

Has anyone seen or heard a wolf in the wild anywhere in the Lower 48?

Yes, we went wolf watching in Yellowstone in the Lamar Valley several years ago. We saw two packs. This was over the New Year holiday. We booked a one-day safari with Yellowstone Wolf Tracker. While if you have a scope and plenty of time, you could do this yourself, we found the day with Wolf Tracker extremely worthwhile. Our guide was a biologist. The experience was stunningly beautiful and very, very cold.

I saw a single wolf while hiking in Wyoming a few years ago - it was a glimpse actually. First one I've ever seen.

I have seen wolves in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Much more likely there than in the Rockies.

It’s not widely known (and never will be) that this is an excellent part of the country to see wildlife. I saw a bald eagle flying low down my older suburban Minneapolis street the other day, carrying something, rabbit?

We saw a lone large canid north of the Grand Canyon one year, it could have been a wolf, coy-wolf, coyote or a big German shepherd?

Prairie Hiker,

about 10 years ago I was black bear hunting near Northome. While I was sitting in my tree stand about an hour before dark a wolf starting howling very close to my stand. It was as loud as a train whistle. Far off I heard the return howls of it's pack. Needless to say it was a scary walk back to my truck.
At that time the DNR was trapping some of the woves as they were preying on the area ranchers calves.

I did not see the wolf, thank goodness.

Ziggypop, thank you for your report. I'm glad you got to experience a bit of the wild. BTW, wolves are not really a threat to humans in the Lower 48 States. They tend to avoid humans just like black bears. There have been no documented cases of wolves attacking and killing humans in the Lower 48 in the last 135 years. They did kill over 20 humans in the lower 48 in the 19th & 18th Centuries. They have, however, killed people in Alaska, Canada, Russia and India in recent years. Alaska wildlife officials say if a wolf approaches, stare directly and don't turn your back to it. Stand your ground if a wolf attacks and fight with any means possible including rocks and sticks. Dogs (wild and domestic) kill about 30 people a year but wild animals rarely kill human beings. The odds of a wild animal killing you are one in nearly 1.4 million!