MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Researchers in northern Minnesota got their first glimpse of cubs this spring in a study pack in Voyageurs National Park.
In a Facebook post, The Voyageurs Wolf Project said cameras captured the puppies on Monday as they walked through the forest, trying to follow their father as their mother followed them. Researchers believe there are five new puppies in the “Paradise Pack”.
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This is the third litter of puppies for the Paradise breeding pair in as many years. While none of the four puppies from the first litter survived, two of the five survived last year. So far, this year’s litter appears healthy, according to the researchers.
(credit: Travelers Wolf Project)
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News of the new litter comes about a week after researchers from the University of Minnesota announced that someone had illegally shot and killed a wolf near the national park.
The wolf killed was part of another breeding pair. The killing ended what was known as the “Tamarack Pack”, as the companion has since become a lone wolf, and researchers say other wolves will likely soon take over the territory.
In Minnesota and across the United States, gray wolves are federally protected. While protections for wolves were removed under the Trump administration, a judge reinstated them in February, saying federal officials had failed to show wolves in the Midwest could sustain their populations without the protections offered by endangered species law.
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According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, there are approximately 2,600 wolves in the state, in the Iron Range and in areas along the Canadian border.
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