Final Michigan wolf hunt kill 23, short of quota

1/1/2014

LANSING, Mich.  — Michigan wildlife officials say 23 wolves were killed in the Upper Peninsula during the state’s first wolf hunt in four decades. That’s well short of the quota, and experts blame frigid conditions.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said today that one additional kill was reported on the hunt’s final day Tuesday.

The department had a quota of 43 for the hunt.

Officials say that unusually cold weather probably kept the hunt in check.

Five of the maximum 16 wolves were killed in the far western U.P., 14 of 19 in four central counties and four of eight in the eastern U.P.

The wolf hunting season opened on Nov. 15. Before the season, the DNR estimated that Michigan had 658 wolves.