Excellent footage. Thanks for sharing it. I wrestle with differentiating wolves from coyotes still with my trail camera. A lot of nice clear footage here.
Thanks, Dennis! Thanks for the inspiration so many years ago...connecting me to the volunteer carnivore tracking program and for planting the seed that we see going to fruit in this video! Cheers!
Superbes images de loups de nuit comme de jour et aussi de tous ces animaux des bois. Bravo pour cette vidéo et merci pour le partage. Bonne continuation !
Merci! Agreed, one of my favorite parts of this project was how many different animal species there are in that forest. Really great biological diversity in places where wolves live!
I was hoping you would have a new video soon! Wonderful content! Those wolves are amazing!! Did you do any bird surveying work this breeding season? Will you be posting any birding videos?
Thanks so much for the kind words! I did do another field season (14th year!), but it was exceptionally busy...didn't make much film. I have a few projects in the works, though! Thanks for watching!
Spectacular videos you have here. Timber wolves ?? Nice size pack. I often wonder when the deer are wandering about . If they walk over or close to a den hole. Like I mean close if they ever get snatched into the hole. I know the yotes jump into their holes. Assuming wolves do the same. I know it’s a deterant thing but I wonder if Bambi’s could smell them and if they know there’s the place not to walk upon. I would think they’d know. I guess anything’s possible. How did you come across this den? Stumble upon it? Or just set up cam and wolahh their they were? Just curious I set up cams on a farm where there’s coyotes. And it’s hard to get them on film. Their slick. Then again 3 of my 4 cans night flash. Their definatley wise to the flash. Assuming your cam does not flash Thanks for the vid. Excellent footage keep um coming. What kind of cam do you use if I may ask thanks !
Yes, I made some recordings with a Zoom H4N Pro and used that in the night sequences. Reason for that was that an insect was chewing on something next to the camera, and the on-camera audio wasn't usable. I figured that howling audio from a few days earlier would add to the beauty of it all. When I saw the footage of the pup chasing its tail, I had a good laugh too! Thanks for watching!
What part of Northern Wisconsin was this? I was just up in Mercer Wisconsin a couple months ago for a week. Been told they had Black Bear, wolves and even Mountain Lions up there.
I won't be too specific, but I can tell you it is in Northwest Wisconsin. The Wisconsin DNR has some good maps to show current wolf range in the state. Cheers!
No, it is a public area with active tree harvest. What you are seeing is natural behavior in a pup rendezvous site. A combination of good tracking (almost bragging LOL) and infrequent visits to the camera locations keeps behavior normal. No feeding, no alterations...just low human pressure.
@@reape1987 there’s a DNR in the area I’d start there talking to the locals it seems the wolves were a nuisance in the area I did some backroads but didn’t see anything of course during fall I’m sure you could pick up something on a trail cam
Old school tracking is really the best way to succeed in capturing footage like this. Track frequencies are pretty important, so you will need a combination of land where you are allowed to leave cameras up and land that has forest lanes or logging roads. It really varies year to year, as packs use different resources in their territories as conditions change. Best of luck!
Northwest Wisconsin in the upper 1/3 of the state... It is actually pretty close to the place where wolves crossed over from Minnesota and repopulated in the 1970's. Cheers!
Hi Zach! I purchased a StealthCam DS4K. It is awesome!!! 3 minute videos in super-HD upon triggering. I found that I needed to change batteries every three weeks or so, but I had the camera maxed out in performance. It delivers! The howls were recorded with a Zoom H4N in April, the start of this pursuit. I got the howls on the back side of a contact howling session that I attempted. I gave a few quiet howls and increased the intensity a bit... I was happy to get a solid response from a wolf less than 400 yards away... and the journey began.
These are eastern wolves of the Western Great Lakes population. They are in their summer coats, so they don't look as much like "media" imagery. The ancestors of these wolves are those of Minnesota's north shore. Throughout the 1970's to present, wolves expanded naturally to reclaim range in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Thanks for you question!
They actually mix beautifully. Given that there around 3000 deer within a wolf pack's 100 square-mile home range, about 90% will escape predation. I have seen that those deer living in the vicinity of the den are big-boned, healthy animals. Sure fawn recruitment is a little low in the immediate area, but you can actually see some of the wolf-savvy behavior in this video (Check out the interesting behavior of the velvet buck as it detects the wolves on one of their three rendezvous sites at 5:58 ) I don't want to flaunt with oversimplification, but it is likely that wolves do keep deer herds healthier, but by keeping densities lower and thus reducing disease vectoring and increasing available forage per animal...and not by "eating the old and sick." Most of the deer prey is likely healthy young deer, but the net benefit to the deer population here is immense. These wolves also seem to prey heavily on beaver, likely influencing the landscape to some extent. What was astonishing to me when I did this project is the phenomenal biological diversity and density of mammalian life living within the wolf rendezvous sites!
@@whitehondarider22 Seriously high deer densities and good deer hunting in the midst of this pack. With the hours of boots on the ground I have in the zone of this pack, including hours spent bow hunting, I have become a firm believer that wolf packs make deer herds healthy.
They’re a very interesting animal but glad to hear farmers are killing them on sight. No need for them here taking out the deer population and live stock.
I guess I would disagree that it at all so simple. Our deer herd health has always benefitted from the presence of wolves. Thinner herds carry less disease. To present it with such an absolutist viewpoint is seldom productive. "No Need" is a very utilitarian, short-term industrial viewpoint. I agree that there will always be human disagreement about them, but they have always been a part of this continent and Wisconsin (except for a short period 1964-1979) when strychnine bounties eliminated them. They reintroduced themselves through natural dispersal from Minnesota in the 1970s...basically here since the ice ages. Enjoy the beauty of it all!
Good looking pups with their full bellies
Thanks for watching! Yes, 2021 was a great year for that pack!
Excellent footage. Thanks for sharing it. I wrestle with differentiating wolves from coyotes still with my trail camera. A lot of nice clear footage here.
Thanks for watching! Yes, those summer coats can be especially challenging to differentiate from coyotes at a distance!
Wonderful video, Brian, and a great way to begin the day. Thanks!
Thanks, Dennis! Thanks for the inspiration so many years ago...connecting me to the volunteer carnivore tracking program and for planting the seed that we see going to fruit in this video! Cheers!
wow great trail cam video ...cheers
Thank you!
Super pretty
Thank you! Thanks for watching!
Awesome video, thank you so much for sharing!! My dog also loves it, she's got some wolf in her!!
Brian, awesome footage !
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it! Sure was fun to retrieve those SD Cards!
Superbes images de loups de nuit comme de jour et aussi de tous ces animaux des bois. Bravo pour cette vidéo et merci pour le partage. Bonne continuation !
Merci! Agreed, one of my favorite parts of this project was how many different animal species there are in that forest. Really great biological diversity in places where wolves live!
Great footage! So relaxing
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Super,thanks.
Thanks for watching!
So inspirational!
Thanks, Wyatt!
Awesome video loved it. New sub been thinking of setting up cam in my back yard. Live in northern Wisconsin.
Thanks for watching! The StealthCam DS4K has been a good one! 3 minutes of video per triggering event, and the sound is very good too.
I was hoping you would have a new video soon! Wonderful content! Those wolves are amazing!! Did you do any bird surveying work this breeding season? Will you be posting any birding videos?
Thanks so much for the kind words! I did do another field season (14th year!), but it was exceptionally busy...didn't make much film. I have a few projects in the works, though! Thanks for watching!
What was the prey being carried by the wolf around the 2:30 mark?
Not sure, but I suspect beaver.
Spectacular videos you have here. Timber wolves ?? Nice size pack. I often wonder when the deer are wandering about . If they walk over or close to a den hole. Like I mean close if they ever get snatched into the hole. I know the yotes jump into their holes. Assuming wolves do the same. I know it’s a deterant thing but I wonder if Bambi’s could smell them and if they know there’s the place not to walk upon. I would think they’d know. I guess anything’s possible. How did you come across this den? Stumble upon it? Or just set up cam and wolahh their they were? Just curious I set up cams on a farm where there’s coyotes. And it’s hard to get them on film. Their slick. Then again 3 of my 4 cans night flash. Their definatley wise to the flash. Assuming your cam does not flash Thanks for the vid. Excellent footage keep um coming. What kind of cam do you use if I may ask thanks !
Hi! Sorry about the late reply... I used a Stealthcam DS4K for this. Finding the right location was based on a lot of weeks of "old school" tracking.
Nice video. What is that loud noise in the background. Is that a wolf howling? I saw the part where the wolf chases its tail. Laugh out loud!
Yes, I made some recordings with a Zoom H4N Pro and used that in the night sequences. Reason for that was that an insect was chewing on something next to the camera, and the on-camera audio wasn't usable. I figured that howling audio from a few days earlier would add to the beauty of it all. When I saw the footage of the pup chasing its tail, I had a good laugh too! Thanks for watching!
What a great video!! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
What part of Northern Wisconsin was this? I was just up in Mercer Wisconsin a couple months ago for a week. Been told they had Black Bear, wolves and even Mountain Lions up there.
I won't be too specific, but I can tell you it is in Northwest Wisconsin. The Wisconsin DNR has some good maps to show current wolf range in the state. Cheers!
@@stcroixoutdoors Thanks! Yea when I was up in Northern Wisconsin didn’t see any wolves I did see a Coyote though!
How are you getting them so relaxed. Looks like your property or something, are you feeding them ?
No, it is a public area with active tree harvest. What you are seeing is natural behavior in a pup rendezvous site. A combination of good tracking (almost bragging LOL) and infrequent visits to the camera locations keeps behavior normal. No feeding, no alterations...just low human pressure.
I’ve been up ely Minnesota looking for bears an wolves better winter time but tough traveling
Where’s a good area to catch wolves on trail cam up there? I’m in Minnesota also. just bought some cameras to catch wildlife and to use to hunt deer
@@reape1987 there’s a DNR in the area I’d start there talking to the locals it seems the wolves were a nuisance in the area I did some backroads but didn’t see anything of course during fall I’m sure you could pick up something on a trail cam
Old school tracking is really the best way to succeed in capturing footage like this. Track frequencies are pretty important, so you will need a combination of land where you are allowed to leave cameras up and land that has forest lanes or logging roads. It really varies year to year, as packs use different resources in their territories as conditions change. Best of luck!
Where in northern wi Vilas County here.
Northwest Wisconsin in the upper 1/3 of the state... It is actually pretty close to the place where wolves crossed over from Minnesota and repopulated in the 1970's. Cheers!
What gear did you use to accomplish this?
Hi Zach! I purchased a StealthCam DS4K. It is awesome!!! 3 minute videos in super-HD upon triggering. I found that I needed to change batteries every three weeks or so, but I had the camera maxed out in performance. It delivers! The howls were recorded with a Zoom H4N in April, the start of this pursuit. I got the howls on the back side of a contact howling session that I attempted. I gave a few quiet howls and increased the intensity a bit... I was happy to get a solid response from a wolf less than 400 yards away... and the journey began.
What kind of wolves are these?
These are eastern wolves of the Western Great Lakes population. They are in their summer coats, so they don't look as much like "media" imagery. The ancestors of these wolves are those of Minnesota's north shore. Throughout the 1970's to present, wolves expanded naturally to reclaim range in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Thanks for you question!
Wolves and deer don't seem to mix well!
They actually mix beautifully. Given that there around 3000 deer within a wolf pack's 100 square-mile home range, about 90% will escape predation. I have seen that those deer living in the vicinity of the den are big-boned, healthy animals. Sure fawn recruitment is a little low in the immediate area, but you can actually see some of the wolf-savvy behavior in this video (Check out the interesting behavior of the velvet buck as it detects the wolves on one of their three rendezvous sites at 5:58 ) I don't want to flaunt with oversimplification, but it is likely that wolves do keep deer herds healthier, but by keeping densities lower and thus reducing disease vectoring and increasing available forage per animal...and not by "eating the old and sick." Most of the deer prey is likely healthy young deer, but the net benefit to the deer population here is immense. These wolves also seem to prey heavily on beaver, likely influencing the landscape to some extent. What was astonishing to me when I did this project is the phenomenal biological diversity and density of mammalian life living within the wolf rendezvous sites!
lol
@@whitehondarider22 Seriously high deer densities and good deer hunting in the midst of this pack. With the hours of boots on the ground I have in the zone of this pack, including hours spent bow hunting, I have become a firm believer that wolf packs make deer herds healthy.
They’re a very interesting animal but glad to hear farmers are killing them on sight. No need for them here taking out the deer population and live stock.
I guess I would disagree that it at all so simple. Our deer herd health has always benefitted from the presence of wolves. Thinner herds carry less disease. To present it with such an absolutist viewpoint is seldom productive. "No Need" is a very utilitarian, short-term industrial viewpoint. I agree that there will always be human disagreement about them, but they have always been a part of this continent and Wisconsin (except for a short period 1964-1979) when strychnine bounties eliminated them. They reintroduced themselves through natural dispersal from Minnesota in the 1970s...basically here since the ice ages. Enjoy the beauty of it all!