A 17-year-old girl had a frightening encounter with two wolves in her yard at 7101 West Highway 61 in Tofte on Monday, March 26. Jana Sanders was pruning some rose bushes near the deck on her family’s home at about 1:30 p.m. when she heard a growl behind her.
“I stood up and turned around,” said Sanders told the Cook County News- Herald a few days later. “And there was a big, black wolf baring his teeth.”
Sanders said the wolf was very close, just a few feet away from her. She said she was extremely frightened, but she forced herself to remain calm. She said she knew that wolves are like dogs and that they would possibly chase her if she ran. She took a few steps toward the house, but to her dismay, she saw another wolf, smaller, gray and “mangy looking” about eight feet away—between her and the house.
Sanders said she slowly backed away from both animals to her truck. As she unlocked her truck, she said the wolves “hunched down and growled at me.”
When she got into her truck, she honked the horn but the wolves stayed put and barked at her. Shaken, Sanders drove away, driving all the way to a friend’s house in Lutsen. “I didn’t know what to do,” she said, “I could have gone next door to Cooter’s [the neighboring business], but I was just really shook up.”
She called her father, Joe Sanders, who contacted Randy Nelson, owner of Cooter’s Auto Repair. The Sanders own Joe’s Salvage Yard next to Cooter’s and their house is just to the east of the salvage yard. Nelson drove to the Sander’s house and the wolves were gone, but he told the News-Herald he has seen quite a few wolves in the vicinity.
“They’ve been all over down here,” said Nelson. “You see them in the big field off of the Sawbill Trail all the time.”
According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website, wolves typically avoid people. There are few documented accounts of wild wolves attacking people in North America. However, the DNR adds, when wild animals become habituated to people, they may lose their fear of humans, especially if they are fed or if they associate humans with providing food.
The DNR notes that, like any large predator, wolves are capable of killing people. No one should ever encourage a wolf or any other wild animal to approach. Hikers and campers should take all necessary precautions to prevent mishaps involving wildlife. People should be mindful of the potential harm that wolves and other wild animals are capable of inflicting.
Owners of livestock, guard animals or domestic animals may shoot or destroy wolves that pose an immediate threat to their animals, on property they own or lease in accordance with local statutes.
“Immediate threat” means the observed behavior of a wolf in the act of stalking, attacking, or killing livestock, a guard animal, or a domestic pet under the supervision of the owner.
Additionally, the owner of a domestic pet may shoot or destroy a wolf posing an immediate threat on any property, as long as the owner is supervising the pet.
In all cases, a person shooting or destroying a wolf under these provisions must protect all evidence, and report the taking to a DNR conservation officer within 48 hours. The wolf carcass will be surrendered to the conservation officer.
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