The Department of Natural Resources has closed the early season wolf hunt in northeastern Minnesota after hunters reached their harvest quota of 58 animals on Thursday.

The closure comes as a bit of a surprise to many DNR officials, who had expected that hunters would have a difficult time achieving their quotas in the three wolf zones. “I would have guessed they might hit 50 percent [of the quota],” said Tom Rusch, DNR Tower Area Wildlife Manager.

Some have speculated that the higher-than-expected success reflects a greater wolf population in the region than recent DNR estimates. But Rusch said he thinks area hunters are simply putting in the time. “I think people are putting forth an excellent effort,” he said. “A good solid effort makes a difference.”

So far, a total of 13 wolves have been brought in to the Tower office for mandatory inspection. Rusch said most of the successful wolf hunters simply took advantage of an opportunity while out on their deer stands. Others took advantage of deer gut piles, which attracted wolves to their stands. In a few cases, said Rusch, people drew wolves in with bait or high-tech calls.

While the closure of the hunt in the northeast zone may be a disappointment to hunters who hadn’t yet bagged a wolf, Rusch noted that hunters don’t have to travel very far to reach the northwest zone, where hunting remains open. The line is Hwy. 73 and 23,” said Rusch. “It’s not as if you have to go all the way to Thief River to take advantage of the northwest zone.” Indeed, the western third and most of far northern St. Louis County is located within the northwestern wolf zone.

So far, hunters have only taken 60 wolves in that zone, well below the early season quota of 133.

The early wolf season ends on Sunday, Nov. 18.

The late wolf season, which is open to both hunters and trappers, gets underway on Saturday, Nov. 24 and concludes on Thursday, Jan. 31, unless quotas are reached before that date. As of Tuesday, the DNR had sold more than 1,000 of the 1,800 late season hunting license available and more than 500 of the 600 wolf trapping licenses available.