Female Wolf Illegally Shot And Killed Near Voyageurs National Park

INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minn. (WCCO) -- Someone illegally shot and killed a wolf near Voyageurs National Park recently, according to a University of Minnesota group researching the animals.

The Voyageurs Wolf Project said on Facebook the female wolf was part of a breeding pair dubbed the Tamarack Pack. Her killing "ended the Tamarack Pack as we know it," the group said, because the mate "became a lone wolf and has since wandered around our study area."

"Though the Tamarack Pack is no more, other wolves will almost certainly take over that territory soon," the group said. "Vacant territories do not remain that way for long in our area and we will be keen to study the wolves that takeover that territory."

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The project said this was the fourth wolf under their purview illegally killed in the last two years. Anyone with information about the wolf's death is asked to call the Department of Natural Resources at 1-800-652-9093.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wolves are a threatened species in Minnesota and are protected under the Endangered Species Act. A 2020 DNR survey estimated the state's wolf population at around 2,700.