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Minnesota researchers find that wolves go fishing in the spring

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Spawning fish...apparently.

KABETOGAMA, Minn. — When we think of what wolves eat we generally think of deer, small rodents, or three little piggies. But new research from a wildlife project in northern Minnesota has shown that fish are likely a widespread food for wolves, especially in the spring.

Researchers from the Voyageurs Wolf Project (VWP), a University of Minnesota research project in collaboration with the National Park Service, discovered that wolves will hunt spawning fish every year.

"When we first recorded wolves fishing in 2017, we thought it was a rare observation," Dani Freund, lead author on the paper and collaborator with VWP, explained in a news release. "But after observing males and females, yearlings and adults, lone wolves and pack members fish, we think that wolves hunt spawning fish across similar boreal ecosystems, and they likely have been doing it for quite a while. We don't think it is a new behavior."

Researchers found that wolves will fish at night from April to June. That's when millions of fish swim upstream to lay eggs making them easier prey for the wolves.

Credit: Voyageurs Wolf Project
A wolf waiting on a log watching fish swim in the shallow creek below, May 2019, Northern Minnesota.

"Wolves' main weapon is their mouth, so going after prey such as deer can cause a severe injury," explained Freund in the release. "Fish on the other hand can't do much to a wolf, and wolves seem to be taking advantage of that. Some wolves seemed to completely pass up larger prey such as beaver when fish were available and abundant." 

The research found that wolves will fish in creeks or rivers less than 3 feet deep. 

The apex predators' favorite fishing holes are located in shallow waters below beaver dams, according to the study. The dams stop fish from swimming upstream to spawn, causing a "fish traffic jam" or rather... a smorgasbord for the large canine. 

Researchers say wolves creep along the river banks and will plunge their noses into the water and catch fish in their jaws - "a strategy similar to how wolves hunt salmon in British Columbia and Alaska."  

Now, before anglers get their GORE-TEX rain pants in a bunch, the wolves are generally not eating game fish. Researchers have found that wolves are eating suckers, commonly called "trash" or "rough" fish. 

Researchers say the video catching the wolves "fishing in the dark" adds to growing evidence that wolf hunting behavior is much more complex than previously thought. 

The VWP is a University of Minnesota research project that is studying the summer ecology of wolves in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem in northern Minnesota.

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