INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minn. — A female wolf living in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem was recently shot and killed, according to the Voyageurs Wolf Project.
The death of the breeding female effectively ends the Tamarack Pack, which roamed a western area near Voyageurs National Park.
"The Tamarack Pack was only a breeding pair so shortly after the breeding female was killed, her mate became a lone wolf and has since wandered around our study area," according to a Facebook post on the Voyageurs Wolf Project page.
"Though the Tamarack Pack is no more, other wolves will almost certainly take over that territory soon. Vacant territories do not remain that way for long in our area and we will be keen to study the wolves that takeover that territory."
Anyone with information about the wolf's death is asked to call the Department of Natural Resources Turn-in-Poachers (TIP) line at 1-800-652-9093.
As of Feb. 10, 2022, gray wolves are once again a federally protected threatened species in Minnesota. Under current federal guidelines wolves can only be killed in defense of human life, and according to Minnesota statute "a person who destroys a wolf under this subdivision must protect all evidence and report the taking to a conservation officer as soon as practicable but no later than 48 hours after the wolf is destroyed."
It's currently illegal for people to hunt and trap wolves in the state.
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