I have an update on the wolf that I forgot to write about!
On September 12th, I got the contact information for the 'Carnivore Specialist' with the WI DNR. I emailed him the story of me seeing a wolf and attached a few photos. Namely, I was interested in him identifying the collar as being the same style as one placed on a wolf by the WI DNR.
He replied back the following day stating that it did appear to be a wolf and was interested in the location. I sent him the approximate location and he said they would take to the air the following week to try and pull a radio ID on the wolf.
On September 18th, I got my answer!
Looks like the wolf in your area is Wolf 825F....she has been missing since early April. Her location today is shown on the enclosed map. She was caught in a coyote trap 2 miles east of the Menominee Reservation, northwest of Suring on 11/8/11. Let me know if you have any additional questions....Thanks for helping us find her.
At the time she was trapped, she was estimated to be a 2-4 year old, ~70lb female.
The DNR tries to locate collared wolves regularly. This is in an effort to study dispersal patterns of wolves in the state, given that this is a relatively new (reintroduced) animal in the state and the DNR is interested in home ranges and reproduction. In addition, regular contact with collared wolves lets the DNR know if the animal is still moving/alive or if it has been killed by a vehicle, poacher, etc.
The map they attached showed her location at the time they located her approximately 1 mile southeast of my hunting location. On the days following the response from the Carnivore Specialist, I continued to get photos of the wolf on my trail camera. A majority of photos were at night. And, several photos were minutes after a bear had been at the bait (maybe showing the same tendency to follow a bear around that I saw on the 11th of September). Regardless, what I learned from the DNR is that this particular wolf seems to have at least a 1 mile range...daily!
Based on the information provided about her last-known location in April, she moved just shy of 30 miles (as the crow flies) to her current location.
What I was told by the DNR is that it's not uncommon for a wolf to use a bear bait as a food source. I never saw photos of the wolf sticking her head in the bait log eating the bait, but there were probably a couple photos of her picking up some scraps on the ground around the bait log. Perhaps she was more interested in using the bait as a stalking point for the numerous raccoons that visited during nighttime hours. Since the conclusion of my bear hunt, we've ceased baiting. Only time will tell if this wolf continues to call this area home or if she moves on to a new area now that the bait is gone.
A few photos spanning several days (there were many photos captured....she would visit for several minutes, and often several times, almost every night):
(remember...DNR got her radio signal 1 mile southeast of this location on 9/18 during daylight hours)
Possible prey (these masked midnight bandits were regular visitors and were very happy when a bear had opened the bait log for them):
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