DNR: 147 Wolves Killed During 1st-Ever Season

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The early season wolf hunt is now in the books, and Minnesota wildlife officials say nearly 150 wolves were killed.

Dan Stark, large carnivore specialist for the Minnesota DNR, said 147 wolves were killed by hunters.

"It's higher than what we expected," Stark said.

WCCO's Adam Carter Interviews Stark

A quota of 200 wolves was set for the early season, but Stark did not expect that number to be reached. He says a quota of 250 wolves has been set for the late hunting and trapping season, which begins Saturday.

For the late season, 2,400 licenses were made available, and as of Monday morning, 317 of those licenses remained available. Stark said hunters who applied, but were not granted a purchase opportunity through the DNR lottery will now be available to purchase the remaining hunting and trapping licenses. Those licenses go on sale at noon Monday.

The late hunting and trapping season runs from Nov. 24 through Jan. 31, 2013.

Stark says based on the success of the early season, hunters and trappers will get close to that overall quota of 400 wolves killed when the late season ends.

He says communication between wildlife officials and hunters went very well during the first season.

"There was definitely a lot of media coverage of it," Stark said. "People were able to keep up with (necessary) information. Being able to monitor season progress for (the DNR) was important, and hunters did a pretty good job of complying with that."