Go, Ely Timberwolves! New pix!

[Dave S]

I have to admit when I saw the title to this thread I thought you'd be posting sports images from the local high school team.

What a pleasant surprise that these wolves weren't wearing red uniforms!

RFLMAO Steve. I thought the exact same thing now that I've been up to Ely and know the area a little better.

Love the photos guys. One of my sons roommates saw a black wolf a couple weeks back.

[finnbay]

Went throught my second short burst from yesterday and worked on three more to make them halfway presentable:

[DMN]

You caught me off guard with the tiltle also.

Very nice captures.

[yakfisher]

Nice work on the second round too. I like the first one the best in the second series.

[Griggs]

That is sooo awesome!

[Yeti]

Again, you are a wealthy man to have these opportunities and the skills to capture them.

I'm curious (and a curious Yeti could be trouble)....in a year, how many wolf encounters do you get? Are there times of year when you see more? If this is "secret" information I understand....I just think that a wolf encounter would be one of the greatest outdoor experiences a yeti/man could have...photo or not.

[finnbay]

Yeti,

It really varies. One year a few back, there was one wolf that I saw at least once a week for most of the winter. I would say this year I've probably seen a few more than normal. Counting the summer and fall I think I've seen 9. Some were at night, and unfortunately a couple were when I didn't have the camera where I could get at it quick enough.

Tend to see more in the winter. They'll cross open lakes and you can see them from quite a distance. Less likely in the summer. It's difficult to go out looking for wolves and expect to find them. Some people do have success going to a known wolf territory, howling and getting a response. But seeing them, seldom.

[Steve Foss]

Yeti, if you're out on the roads or the trails a lot, wolf encounters are not uncommon.

What is uncommon is when they stick around for a minute or two and check you out. If it's light out, that's when the pictures can be great.

Ken's lived up here and spent far more time in the woods over longer periods of time than I have, but I'd guess in the 5-plus years I've been up here I've seen 30-40 wolves along roads and on trails.

Only twice have those encounters led to photographs, because usually it's a VERY fleeting encounter marked most commonly by a disappearing wolf butt.

There really are no secrets except to spend time in an area that is known to hold wolves. The Fernberg Road outside Ely is actually the best for that because there's a long-standing pack that uses the area, and they're pretty used to people because of all the development along that corridor.

[DeeDee]

You caught me off guard with the tiltle also.

Very nice captures.

I thought the same thing I was looking for a sporting event.

[finnbay]

Quote:

because usually it's a VERY fleeting encounter marked most commonly by a disappearing wolf butt.

No kidding. With this black one, that's all I thought I was going to see. When I first saw it, it was trotting away from me down the road. My first burst was only of a butt sighting - better that than nothing! When he stopped and turned broadside I got pretty excited. Then when the second one came out I got even more excited. Gotta be lucky sometimes!

[tedl]

Wolf encounters have become so common that I think twice about taking my dog.

What are you thoughts?

[finnbay]

Aaaa, I don't think I'd leave the dog home on a walk because of it. On the other hand, I do worry when I let them out at night to do their business. I'm not so sure that there are so many more wolves now, but the ones near town or along popular travel routes have become so acclimated to humans that they fear them less, and give more opportunity to be seen. The wolves I've seen deep in the BWCA or Quetico have been more fleeting and they don't stick around to check you out - at least not that you can tell!

By the way, this is only the second black wolf I've ever seen. The first was on a winter camping trip in the Quetico in the 80's. Four went across the ice about a quarter of a mile from where we were fishing and the lead wolf was black.

[Steve Foss]

Ted, I'm not really sure what I think of that. Not too many encounters that I've heard about end with wolves attacking dogs when dogs/humans are out for walks in the woods.

We have two dogs, but I don't have any experience directly with dog/wolf encounters because I always leave them at home. Dogs and nature photography (unless you are purely a landscape photographer) do not mix.

I know wolves will eat a dog PDQ if the opportunity presents itself, particularly if one is left outside tied up all night.

And the wolf Ken and I saw and photographed on the Echo Trail a week or so ago probably came toward us and hung around as long as it did at least partly because there was a little yap-yap dog screaming its head off in the vehicle that pulled up behind us. I reckon Mr. Lupus was thinking about a canine snack.

[tedl]

I have had encounters while out skiing with my dog, and hiking the bass lake trail but nothing has happened yet. They seem to just hang around watching and my dog will not move until we turn back.

Makes me nervous though.

[tedl]

I felt better when you could legally protect your dog. The wife would feed me to the wolves if I came home with just a collar.

[Steve Foss]

It made me a little nervous too when that wolf up the Echo came within 20 feet of us and probably would have kept coming unless I spoke to it. They are unpredictable indeed.

[tedl]

Every encounter does make for a memorable outing though!!

[Steve Foss]

No doubt!

[mrklean]

those are some sweet pics

[Yeti]

I'm glad to hear that it truly is as special as what I imagine it is....I love to hear about these encounters (and see the evidence) because it reminds me that these fella's are out there....

On a side note, I've been working on a Little Red Riding Hood decoy that is going to increase my odds of sighting one of these critters

[Canon Guy]

Boy am I envious. Nice,Nice!