When the pelt of a wolf killed by a car in Douglas County arrived at the Runestone Museum, director Amanda Seim knew she could build an exhibit around it.
“It’s a good reminder that we’re also a natural sciences museum,” she said. “People forget and they think we’re just a history or cultural museum.”
The museum’s most famous artifact, the Kensington Runestone, draws frequent visitors. Now, those who want to learn more about wolves can stop by the exhibit, which opens Friday, Jan. 17.
The exhibit includes the hide of the wolf, which was struck and killed two years ago by a vehicle east of Rose City. It also includes a pair of wolf skulls, a pup den for children and a trio of mounted wolf pups from the museum’s permanent collection. A timeline will show important dates for wolves, including the passage of the Endangered Species Act, and other items will discuss wolves in literature (think “Three Little Pigs” or “Little Red Riding Hood”), their relationship with humans and conservation efforts.
It will be on display through the end of March.
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During that time, Seim plans to bring in a DNR officer for a talk about wolves.
Seim recalls seeing a wolf in the early 1990s west of Brandon while riding in a vehicle with her parents. They pulled over and watched it for at least a half hour through binoculars, she said.
“It was by itself,” she said. “I’m sure it was down looking for food.”
Douglas County is at the very fringe of the wolf habitat in Minnesota; most wolves occupy the northeastern part of the state, the DNR says. Hunting and poisoning caused Minnesota wolves to dwindle to about 750 animals in the 1950s, however, restoration efforts have resulted in just over 2,400 wolves that live in 470 packs. That number seems to have stabilized.
According to the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota is the only state in the Lower 48 that has always held a viable gray wolf population.
The DNR says its goal for wolf management is to ensure the long term survival of wolves in Minnesota while addressing conflicts between wolves and humans.
And conflicts do happen.
Last year, a man in Ely and a man in Duluth reported witnessing wolf attacks on their dogs while walking or jogging. Both men intervened, saving their pets.
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In 2010, a woman in Alaska, Candice Berner, 32, was killed by wolves, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Further back in time, when wolves were plentiful, newspapers reported fatal attacks every few years, and sometimes several times in one year. In 1888, at least two newspapers reported that a woman in New Rockford, North Dakota, witnessed a large wolf pack attack and devour her husband and son outside their home, according to records at the Library of Congress.
Nowadays, wolves have passionate defenders and equally passionate haters. Their defenders point out that nowadays, attacks on humans are rare, and wolves are a symbol of wildness that keeps nature in balance.
A Runestone Museum assistant, Alexis Lang, has a unique perspective. As a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, with an Ojibwe grandfather and a Swedish grandmother, she grew up hearing the fearful fairy tales as well as her grandfather’s view of them as protectors.
She doesn’t approve of trapping wolves for fur or killing them for fun. Wolves should be respected, she said, and she appreciates that the museum is creating an exhibit about them.
“I believe the wolf is just misunderstood,” she said. “I don’t feel comfortable with one side or another.”
If you go
What: Wolf exhibit
Where: Runestone Museum, 206 Broadway, Alexandria
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When: Exhibit opens Friday, Jan. 17 and runs through the end of March. Museum winter hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Also: The Douglas County Library will host Wolf 101 from 11-11:45 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 18. Open to all ages, the library will connect with International Wolf Center scientists via videoconference.
