Crosslake area dog owners warned after timber wolf sighting

Crosslake area residents are warned to keep their dogs inside after receiving several complaints of timber wolves in the area.

In one instance, at the residence of Charlotte Curtis and Bruce Harjes on the 30000 block of Crow Wing County Road 37, the homeowners believe a timber wolf took a dog.

About 7 p.m. Tuesday, Harjes said he heard one of his dogs, a miniature Doberman pinscher named Dobie, barking intensely from his garage. When he looked out the window he saw a timber wolf standing about 50 feet away.

"At first I thought, 'Geez, I wish had a camera because no one is going to believe this," Harjes said.

Then the timber wolf began walking toward Dobie. Harjes rapped on the window and shouted at the wolf and it returned to the woods. It was then that he noticed his other dog, Izzy, a Chihuahua-rat terrier mix, was missing. He looked on his property and drove around the area but couldn't find a trace of Izzy, he said.

At 8 a.m. Wednesday, the timber wolf was back at Harjes' and Curtis' residence trying to get their second dog. That's when he called Crosslake Police Chief Robert Hartman to report the timber wolf.

"I think the wolf was thinking about coming back for a second helping," Harjes said.

While Harjes didn't see the wolf take the dog, he is convinced it was the wolf because the dogs never separated and Izzy never left the yard. Hartman said based on the increasing number of timber wolves in the area, the dog very well could have been taken by a timber wolf.

"Frequently we're seeing more timber wolves and hearing more reports of timber wolves," Hartman said. "We know there's a handful of them around."

Cary Shoutz, DNR conservation officer in Crosslake, said timber wolves have been expanding their ranges for some time with multiple sightings recently in the Crosslake, Pine River and Backus areas. He said the same timber wolf Harjes described was seen Wednesday chasing two fawns in Crosslake.

Shoutz said a timber wolf taking a dog is more common in northern Minnesota, where the wolves are in greater concentration. He said such attacks are usually because wolves are territorial, not because the wolf is hungry.

"Wolves just won't stand for having dogs in the same area where they roam," Shoutz said. "It has more to do with competition in nature. A wolf, from natural instincts, goes after dogs.

"This time of year, midsummer, is a real popular time to have wolf sightings. This particular wolf has been sighted a lot. We've had a half dozen calls on it."

Shoutz said dog owners in the areas of Crosslake, Pine River and Backus should kennel their dogs or bring them in the house at night. If a dog needs to be let out, it should be under supervision. In most cases, the wolves pose no danger to humans, he said, but strange behavior by a wolf should be reported to the DNR.

MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.