Tag: wolf attack

Watch: Young wolf has fight on hands with feisty squirrel

Footage captured in Minnesota shows a wolf pup discovering that capturing squirrels can involve painful consequences.

–The Voyageurs Wolf Project on Thursday shared a series of images titled “Trail camera gold” as part of a donation request. The Instagram images, with no description, show a wolf preying on a squirrel with what appear to be painful results.

We featured the back story and video showing this predation event last July. Both are posted below.

Trail-cam footage captured recently in Minnesota shows a wolf pup discovering that capturing squirrels can involve painful consequences.

“This wolf pup learned that squirrel bites on the nose don’t feel so good,” the Voyageurs Wolf Project stated via social media.

The accompanying footage opens with a slow-motion sequence in which the pup sends the squirrel flying after receiving a bite on the tip of its snout.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9KdXHZPgCD/

It picks up with more of the hunt, at regular speed and in slow motion, including a second bite to the snout.

One viewer described the action as a “food fight.”

The footage certainly underscores that life as a young predator includes working hard for just about every meal.

The Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem is a vast boreal forest that includes Voyageurs National Park. The Voyageurs Wolf Project studies wolves in the region.

Oregon elk hunter shoots and kills wolf, prompting investigation

An elk hunter in Oregon has reported killing a wolf in self-defense, prompting wildlife officials to investigate.

An elk hunter in Oregon has reported killing a wolf in self-defense, prompting wildlife officials to launch an investigation.

The Oregon State Police stated Monday that the hunter claimed to have been threatened by the wolf as he tracked elk on Nov. 2 along a ridge in Grant County.

The hunter told OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers that the wolf emerged from the trees and stared him down as he yelled and waved his arms in an attempt to frighten the animal.

“The wolf then reportedly looked at the hunter from a distance of approximately 30 yards and started coming directly toward the hunter,” OSP described in a news release. “The hunter stated he feared for his safety and fired one round, striking the wolf and killing it instantly.”

Troopers who visited the scene determined that the wolf was about 18 yards from the hunter when he shot the animal. A second wolf also emerged but ran off after the hunter fired into the air.

Wolves are protected in Oregon and there is no general sport-hunting season for the animals.

OSP said a report on the incident will be submitted to the Grant County District Attorney’s Office.

The agency added: “Preliminary investigation revealed the hunter acted reasonably in shooting the wolf for personal safety and appropriately notified officials immediately upon shooting the wolf.”

–Generic wolf image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service