wolf shot….

In Filmore county by a coyote hunter. We need more coyote hunters like him perchance?

Not a very smart coyote hunter.

I tried to read the article in our local newspaper but of course since we don’t subscribe…..

Maybe ten years ago Ma and I were on our way to Northfield and just north of Pine Island I saw what looked like a dog dead on the shoulder but it was just too big so I found a spot to turn around and went back to check it out. It was a male wolf. Way larger than a coyote and didn’t have the face of a shepherd. I sent a picture to the dnr but heard nothing back from them. I mentioned this to a CO at the state fair a couple years back and he looked at me like I was high on something.

If southern Minnesota can have a vagrant moose every couple years or a bear every couple years, its certainly not outside of my way of thinking that wolves are here way more than the DNR wants us to think they are. Sort of like they want us to believe that wolf numbers are in check.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Not a very smart coyote hunter.

No doubt!

And what was it doing way down there? That’s more than a little out of their range…

I bet that was a surprise Jimmy!

Is there an article for this? I’d like to read a source on it.

LabDaddy1 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CaptainMusky wrote:</div>
Not a very smart coyote hunter.

No doubt!

And what was it doing way down there? That’s more than a little out of their range…

more deer fer food!!!!!!!!

Its in the Rochester Post Bulletin Gim. The paper has gone to crap over the last few years and isn’t even printed in Rochester any more…. Red Wing. Tuesdays and Saturdays. We canceled some time ago so I cannot access the on-line version. Carole’s oldest son posted it on facebook this morning. I’m not sure you can get into the paper’s on-line site without buying into it.

LabDaddy1 wrote:

And what was it doing way down there? That’s more than a little out of their range…

As mentioned, the SE corner of this state has had ever animal common to the far north down here. Including cougars [which the dnr has denied any chance that they’re here]. And now this confirmed wolf kill. As I understand it, these animals can wander well outside of their normal range and most often its a male of the species. This wolf does not surprise me in the least, especially after finding the one along the highway back then. Moose I don’t worry about. Bear I don’t worry about. Cougar are so unusual that I’m not fretting over one of them either. Wolves have no place down here and just one should put people on notice.

Feb. 14—FORESTVILLE TOWNSHIP, Minn. — Wolves are rarely seen in the southern part of Minnesota, but a Spring Valley man has been cited for shooting and killing a gray wolf in southern Forestville Township in Fillmore County.

According to a Jan. 11, 2025, citation issued by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Lucas Dean Heusinkveld, 21, of Spring Valley, Minnesota, shot and killed a gray wolf while out hunting coyotes.

DNR spokesman Joe Albert said the incident, in which a female wolf was shot and killed, is under investigation.

In the meantime, the DNR has taken possession of the wolf carcass.

According to the DNR, as of Feb. 10, 2022, gray wolves are once again a federally protected threatened species, and under current federal guidelines, wolves may only be taken in defense of human life.

That said, the DNR’s own handbook on hunting and trapping regulations notes, “Wolves have been mistakenly shot outside Minnesota’s primary wolf range because hunters thought they were coyotes. Wolves were once restricted to the northern part of Minnesota, but they have expanded their range and could show up in any part of the state.”

The same guidebook notes that adult gray wolves are about twice as tall and can be three times the weight of adult coyotes, but the animals have similar shapes and coloring.

Still, the hunting and trapping regulations state, “Shooting a wolf because you think it is a coyote is illegal and punishable by Minnesota game and fish laws.”

The DNR estimated in 2021 that there were roughly 2,770 wolves in Minnesota.

Coyotes are legal to hunt year-round, Albert added.

“Coyotes are considered unprotected mammals in Minnesota,” he said. “The season is continuous and there is no limit on the number that can be taken.”

**edit oops see it was posted while I was grabbing it**

Here’s the article copy paste.

FORESTVILLE TOWNSHIP, Minn. — Wolves are rarely seen in the southern part of Minnesota, but a Spring Valley man has been cited for shooting and killing a gray wolf in southern Forestville Township in Fillmore County.

According to a Jan. 11, 2025, citation issued by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Lucas Dean Heusinkveld, 21, of Spring Valley, Minnesota, shot and killed a gray wolf while out hunting coyotes.

DNR spokesman Joe Albert said the incident, in which a female wolf was shot and killed, is under investigation.

In the meantime, the DNR has taken possession of the wolf carcass.

According to the DNR, as of Feb. 10, 2022, gray wolves are once again a federally protected threatened species, and under current federal guidelines, wolves may only be taken in defense of human life.

That said, the DNR’s own handbook on hunting and trapping regulations notes, “Wolves have been mistakenly shot outside Minnesota’s primary wolf range because hunters thought they were coyotes. Wolves were once restricted to the northern part of Minnesota, but they have expanded their range and could show up in any part of the state.”

The same guidebook notes that adult gray wolves are about twice as tall and can be three times the weight of adult coyotes, but the animals have similar shapes and coloring.

Still, the hunting and trapping regulations state, “Shooting a wolf because you think it is a coyote is illegal and punishable by Minnesota game and fish laws.”

The DNR estimated in 2021 that there were roughly 2,770 wolves in Minnesota.

Coyotes are legal to hunt year-round, Albert added.

“Coyotes are considered unprotected mammals in Minnesota,” he said. “The season is continuous and there is no limit on the number that can be taken

Thanks for posting.

My guess would be a lone male seeking new territory. Which is what occurs with the lion sightings too – males wandering and seeking new territory.

Evidence of a pack/litter would mean a reproducing population in the area.

^The article states it was a female wolf.

DNR spokesman Joe Albert said the incident, in which a female wolf was shot and killed, is under investigation.

say’s it was a female but a male could be there too..

lindyrig79 wrote:

^The article states it was a female wolf.

Oh crap, I missed that part. Thanks

I didn’t see what he was fined?? Is that still a date with a judge thing as of now?

Lots of wolves in this state. Moving south is bound to happen.

Jimmy Jones wrote:

Moose I don’t worry about. Bear I don’t worry about. Cougar are so unusual that I’m not fretting over one of them either. Wolves have no place down here and just one should put people on notice.

stay strapped

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How’d he get caught? Did he turn himself in?

A friend of mine who knows him said he was bragging all around town, etc.

I love to laugh when people ask, “What was that animal doing WAY down here, or WAY over there……” Not being a jerk. But it’s just funny to me. They’re animals! They can cover a hundred miles in a little over a day/night. They have no idea about the gray shaded area the DNR claims is their home range. They go where they want when they want. And should they choose to stay there, they will. I also put zero faith in when the same DNR claims that there isn’t a breeding population of a particular species. Cause, they have some kind of control over that somehow…..

All that aside, there’s way more wolves shot every year in MN than the DNR would ever know about. Most aren’t “accidents” and most folks never mention it.

If he saw the wolf and reported it to the DNR he would of been told, nope you saw a coyote there are no wolves this far south.

mxskeeter wrote:

If he saw the wolf and reported it to the DNR he would of been told, nope you saw a coyote there are no wolves this far south.

That’s what they should say, right?

I feel like there was a couple shot 5-10 years ago down by New Ulm area, maybe Fairmont. So, not common, but surely often enough to never say never.

This guy was so far south he didn’t even know about the common knowledge up north to SSS for wolves.

This story reminds me of that lady Hunter that shot a husky and thought it was a young wolf and plastered it all over social media. The fallout was epic to watch.

wrong post

CaptainMusky wrote:

Not a very smart person coyote hunter.

Fixed it for ya.

wkw wrote:

A friend of mine who knows him said he was bragging all around town, etc.

what an idiot.

gim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CaptainMusky wrote:</div>
Not a very smart person coyote hunter.

Fixed it for ya.

I prefer to reserve judgement with only the facts at hand. He was hunting coyotes, so know your target. After seeing more, he was a jackass.

I prefer to reserve judgement with only the facts at hand. He was hunting coyotes, so know your target. After seeing more, he was a jackass.

wkw wrote:

A friend of mine who knows him said he was bragging all around town, etc.

Oh that just might do it

munchy wrote:

According to the DNR, as of Feb. 10, 2022, gray wolves are once again a federally protected threatened species, and under current federal guidelines, wolves may only be taken in defense of human life.

My livestock and my dogs all identify as Human!!