Bear hunters report abundance of wolf activity in Cook County

September marked the official start of the 2018 bear hunting season in Minnesota. Setting bear-bait stations was legal in August throughout Cook County and other parts of Minnesota.

Local hunters and hunting guides were reporting modest success to start the season, with some hunters noting an abundance of natural forage in the woods as a probable reason bears weren’t interested in baiting stations this year.

Meanwhile, one animal has not been scarce this fall: wolves.

Local bear hunting guide Jim Wallner said his clients and his own observations indicate the wolf population is thriving in Cook County. He also said some of the local wolf population are becoming bold when it comes to encounters with hunters and the animals they target.

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Wallner about wolves and ongoing bear hunting season.