Minnesota is essentially the gray wolf capital of the lower 48. They are such a massive part of the state’s natural lore that they literally named an NBA franchise after them.
Thanks to massive conservation efforts and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Minnesota and Alaska are the only two states that have maintained a continuously viable gray wolf population. And today, the Gopher State boasts a thriving population of around 2,900 wolves.
These “timberwolves” are the apex predators of the northern woods and the Superior National Forest. Their diet consists mostly of deer, moose, and smaller mammals. We have even seen footage of them snagging fish more on that in a minute), but diving into a lake to hunt a beaver? That is an entirely new level of predatory behavior.
Last November, a deer hunter named Jon Galler was sitting in the woods between Grand Rapids and Lake Mille Lacs (one of the absolute best fisheries in the entire country) when he witnessed an unbelievable scene. In the footage, a wolf is standing perfectly still on the bank of the lake, hyper-focused on the water.
Suddenly, the wolf launches itself into the lake and actively attacks a beaver swimming under the surface.
Galler recalled the wild encounter to CBS News:
“I couldn’t believe I was seeing it. Of course it wasn’t a deer, it was a wolf. The minute that beaver made a noise, it was a millisecond, and that wolf’s ears perked up. Next thing I know, he’s lunging through the water. He reached underneath and pulled that beaver right up.”
As the wolf climbs the bank with the massive beaver in its jaws, it suddenly gets spooked, drops its lunch, and bolts into the timber. Galler suspects the predator either spotted him or caught his scent in the wind. However, a free meal doesn’t go to waste in the wild. Two other wolves were trailing closely behind and happily scooped up the abandoned beaver.
Galler knew the encounter was cool, but he didn’t realize the magnitude of what he filmed until he shared it with the Voyageurs Wolf Project—a University of Minnesota-backed research group that studies the area’s packs. Tom Gable, the project lead, was absolutely blown away:
“What he captured here is one in a million or more. When I saw it, I was like ‘wow that’s incredible. That is super cool.'”
It is the ultimate reminder that sitting in a deer stand is never a waste of time. You might get skunked all morning, but you also might get a front-row seat to a once-in-a-lifetime National Geographic moment.
Check out the wild video:
Minnesota Wolf Pack Freshwater Fishing
If you spend enough time outdoors, you quickly realize that Mother Nature will always find a way to surprise you.
Wolf packs are arguably the most fascinating dynamic in the woods. A lone wolf is terrifying on its own, but when they group up, they operate with the detailed, lethal precision of SEAL Team Six. We have seen them completely dismantle massive elk, take down full-grown moose, and even scrap with grizzly bears.
But have you ever seen a wolf fishing in a freshwater creek?
While coastal Alaskan wolves are famous for gorging on the annual salmon run, the idea of freshwater wolves going fishing in the lower 48 was basically unheard of—until the Voyageurs Wolf Project caught them red-handed in Voyageurs National Park.
The researchers knew the pack was eating fish because they kept finding the evidence: consumed carcasses and scat packed with fish scales along the creek banks. They just needed the trail cameras to be in the right place at the right time.
When they finally got the footage, it was spectacular.
During the spawning season, white suckers pile up in massive numbers in shallow creeks, creating an absolute all-you-can-eat buffet. The video shows the wolves splashing through the shallows and lunging wildly at the flopping fish.
While the footage makes them look a little clumsy—like maybe they should just stick to hunting dry-land mammals—the carcasses left behind prove they are actually highly effective anglers.
Check out the incredible trail cam footage over the years below:
Freshwater fishing in 2019:
Fall of 2021:
Head-to-Head With a Moose
Size is usually the ultimate equalizer in the wild. But apparently, nobody told this wolf.
A drone operator was flying his rig over Northern Ontario, Canada, trying to capture some scenic, cinematic shots of the landscape. He spotted a massive moose standing belly-deep in a lake and flew in to get a closer look. What he ended up filming was pure chaos.
“Captured this footage by happenstance while shooting some scenics in Northern Ontario. Was excited by the moose sighting, as I was leaving something unexpected took place.”
Suddenly, a lone wolf bursts out of the timberline, dives headfirst into the lake, and swims straight toward the moose to initiate an attack.
Not willing to just roll over and become dinner, the moose aggressively kicks back at the predator. When that doesn’t work, the moose implements a brilliant survival strategy: it wades into deeper water.
The two go back and forth for quite a while. The wolf even manages to latch its jaws onto the moose’s leg a few times. But ultimately, the depth of the water proved to be the wolf’s downfall. While the long-legged moose could easily stand its ground, the much shorter wolf was forced to paddle just to stay afloat.
Exhausted from trying to swim and fight a 1,000-pound animal at the exact same time, the lone wolf finally throws in the towel and swims back to shore.
If this fight had happened on dry land, or if the rest of the wolf pack had been waiting in the trees, this story likely would have had a much darker ending for the moose.
Roll the tape:
