Grand Portage biologist shares an update on the 'luckiest wolf in the world'

What’s been called “the luckiest wolf in the world” continues to have an inspiring year roaming the North Shore from Grand Portage to Grand Marais.
 
WTIP received a call last winter from a Grand Portage area man who had a very interesting wolf encounter. Brian Neil, who frequently runs along scenic Highway 61, spotted a wolf in the woods in February just off the highway apparently in distress, possibly caught in a trap.
 
Neil ran back to his home where he had phone service and called 911 to report the wolf. The 911 dispatcher connected Neil to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which noted that because the wolf was on Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa land, the investigation would best be handled by the Grand Portage conservation office.
 
That led to a call to Seth Moore, director of Biology and Environmental Services for the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Moore and a fellow biologist responded and discovered that the wolf had been caught in a neck snare. It had apparently traveled quite a way after being caught before the snare got snagged on vegetation.
 
Moore and his colleague were able to tranquilize the wolf, a young female, about 55 pounds, to remove the snare. While the wolf was tranquilized, Moore was able to draw a blood sample and put a radio collar on it. 
 
At the time it was caught in the snare, Moore said: “This is the luckiest wolf in the world, to be honest.”
 
Grand Portage Biology and Environmental Services have spent the past five months tracking the wolf's movements to see where it roamed. In the months since the incident occurred in Grand Portage, the wolf has likely had a litter of pups in a den near Lake Superior, associated with other wolves as they tracked moose across the landscape and roamed Highway 61 from the border to the outskirts of Grand Marais.
 
WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Moore about the wolf and its adventures exploring the North Shore in recent months.