ST. GERMAIN, Wis. (WSAW) – A local outdoorsman has captured unusual wolf activity on his trail cameras, spotting two different packs in the same area one day apart.
Jim Lund is a fishing guide for Living the Dream Fishing Guide Service and a hunter who’s been coming to St. Germain since the 1990s. He spends a lot of time in the woods and is familiar with the wildlife.
“I’ve been getting a lot of wolf activity. I don’t think it’s because there’s more wolves, I just think that they’re moving more,” Lund said.
Lund has been tracking one pack in the Northern Highland State Forest for eight to 10 years. He has 12 trail cameras in the area and isn’t used to seeing two packs there, especially in the daytime.
“There was a pack of at least six right down the road. And uh, what that tells me, when a wolf pack moves into an area of another wolf pack, that’s not something they normally do just by happenstance,” Lund said.
Drought and pet safety
Lund thinks the wolves are moving because of the extreme drought many northern counties are in, including Vilas County. He believes they’re looking for food and water.
He wants to remind people to keep a close eye on their pets.
“If they see a dog or, you know, you surprise the pack, whatever, um, they interpret that as a, as like something invading their pack,” Lund said.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, wolves have killed 14 dogs so far this year. Lund has encountered wolves in the past. He said he has never felt threatened by them but does worry about his pets.
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