Living next to the Superior National Forest gives a person abundant opportunity to get outside. Not only to enjoy the splendor of fall but also to appreciate the incredible amount of wildlife in the area. Three days this week I started my day before sunrise heading into the forest to call moose and the whole week was absolutely amazing. 

Last year I didn’t get a single moose to respond to my calling. This year I was fortunate enough to have moose appear five out of the nine times I called. Three of those responses were this week and included calling in a pack of wolves.  

It was a beautiful fall day on Tuesday and I had called for over an hour with no response and was just about to change locations when a beautiful grey wolf surprised us by trotting down the hill. 

Three years ago, we had fooled a pack of seven wolves that circled us thinking I was a cow moose and were looking for breakfast. Never did we think that this once-in-a-lifetime event would happen again. But here the wolf comes. Every time I called, he or she came a little bit closer. 

Then there was movement up the hill above the first wolf.  A second wolf appears. This one is much more impressive in size and stature. Probably the Alpha or dominant one in the pack. They are getting a little more nervous because if we can see them, they can see us. To top that off a wolf’s sense of smell is mind-blowing. Each time I called they would look at us curiously wondering about that sound. They started to circle us to the left. Soon their sense of danger got the best of them and we saw them double back up the hill and silently disappear. 

It’s hard to know how many wolves there were in total. A typical size pack of wolves in Minnesota is around five to six. At times they were looking off to the side so I’m guessing that there were more on the other side of us that we just couldn’t see. Wolves usually come at their prey from two different angles and as long as I kept making the sound of a cow moose, we were their prey.  All I can say is this week was definitely one of those series of outdoor adventures that we will be remembering for some time.