A Trip to See Wolves and Bears.

[takesiteasy]

We took a trip to northern Minnesota.

Trip report is here: http://travelswithrockythedog.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-trip-to-see-wolves-and-bears.html

 

[ski3pin]

We sure enjoy your trips in the northern Midwest. Thanks for letting us tag along!

 

[highz]

Enjoyed your trip report a lot. Must be nice to have so much water for canoeing. I'm envious.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Thanks for the great report.
Wolves are fun to watch.Over the years at Yellowstone we managed to watch a lot of them in action.They gave us a lot of entertainment
watching them do their thing in the Lamar Valley area,even ran across a pair chasing small prey along the trail to Cascade Lk.
We almost stopped at Ely last year on our fall trip but time didn't allow.So your trip gave us a nice view of what is at the centers.
Thanks
Frank

 

[takesiteasy]

Ski, Frank and Highz, the grass is always greener isn't it. I guess that's why we all like our campers, so we can go see the great backyards everyone else has, haha. I love reading all the reports from out west. I'm glad I can return the favor a bit.

 

[4buckeye]

Enjoyed this! I just got done reading The Loop, a book about the controversary of releasing wolves back into the US. They are extraordinary creatures. I envy seeing the bears, on our whole trip across the country, we never spotted one.
We took 210 across MInnesota, would've loved to have gotten more north and explored, looks awesome. Another trip perhaps.....

 

[takesiteasy]

Wolves have done very well in Minnesota (as do black bears)- so well that last year the DNR inaugurated a wolf hunting season at the request of the legislature. Lots of protest, although to be fair many also support the hunting. This week, actress Jessica Lange wrote a letter to the Governor protesting the hunt, although I'm not sure what her expertise is in the matter. This article gives a little background. http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/225371722.html

A new wrinkle is an increasingly rapid decline in the moose population in the state, attributed largely but not solely to predation of young moose. Wolves are a part of the reason. Climate change has also been implicated with warmer winters allowing survival of more ticks and other parasites. Here is more on that: http://www.startribune.com/local/225593372.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=rapid-climate-changes-turn-north-woods-into-moose-graveyard

 

[4buckeye]

Wolves have done very well in Minnesota (as do black bears)- so well that last year the DNR inaugurated a wolf hunting season at the request of the legislature. Lots of protest, although to be fair many also support the hunting. This week, actress Jessica Lange wrote a letter to the Governor protesting the hunt, although I'm not sure what her expertise is in the matter. This article gives a little background. http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/225371722.html

A new wrinkle is an increasingly rapid decline in the moose population in the state, attributed largely but not solely to predation of young moose. Wolves are a part of the reason. Climate change has also been implicated with warmer winters allowing survival of more ticks and other parasites. Here is more on that: http://www.startribune.com/local/225593372.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=rapid-climate-changes-turn-north-woods-into-moose-graveyard

I'm all for what needs to be done.
I have heard that Michigan (upper peninsula) is working on opening a limited season for them as well due similar reasons that Minnesota is having.

Just found this - http://www.freep.com/article/20130928/NEWS06/309280097/wolf-hunting-licenses-Michigan

Saying they're attacking dogs and livestock. While we were up there we talked with many locals and they seemed to think the moose population was either diminishing or in some areas gone. This article states the same problems as MN, althougn it is on an island in MI. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0606_050606_wolves.html