While residents of the northern town are used to co-existing with wildlife, the recent sightings of multiple wolves are creating a buzz… and some concern.
ELY, Minn. — Most residents of Ely are comfortable with the natural world. Located on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), folks set down roots in the northern Minnesota community so they can be close to the woods, and the beasts who live in the great wide open.
But in recent days, the wilds have come to town, creating a buzz… and a bit of concern. On Nov. 7, a squad car cam captured two wolves boldly making their way down a road in Ely, seemingly unconcerned about the humans and vehicles nearby. On the same day, a single wolf was spotted walking across the grounds of the local school while class was in session.
That image was captured and shared on the Facebook page of The Ely Echo. One follower had a bit of fun with the juxtaposition.
“If I was a teacher, I would 100% tell my kids they can smell who doesn’t do their homework and the wolves are hungry so they’re sniffing around to see if any yummy children didn’t turn their assignments in,” the woman wrote.
A day later, someone captured another picture of a wolf walking along a road in town and posted it on a social media platorm called Wolf.Report. The caption read “This wolf has been seen daily in Ely for nearly a month and a half now.”
The increasing presence of wolves in populated areas like Ely have some, including Eighth District U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, calling for the animal to be delisted from the Federal Endangered Species Act.
“The science is clear—the gray wolf has recovered and must be delisted under the Endangered Species Act. Failing to do so threatens the safety and livelihood of our farmers with the loss of their livestock, and safety of the countless individuals across Northern Minnesota—including students in Ely where a wolf was recently spotted roaming school grounds in the middle of the school day,” Stauber told Alpha News.
Stauber has been a vocal supporter of delisting the gray wolf, maintaining that the population has recovered sufficiently and growing numbers increasingly put livestock and humans in peril. The U.S. House voted in 2024 to delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act, but as of today, it remains under protected status in the contiguous 48 states and Mexico, with the exception of the Rocky Mountain wolf population.
In Minnesota, the gray wolf is listed as threatened, which means wolves are under the management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The population is considered recovered and stable, but wolves can only be legally killed to defend a human life.
Ely’s International Wolf Center says Minnesota is the only state in the contiguous United States that has always hosted a viable gray wolf population. They eat primarily deer, moose and beaver, but occasionally kill or injure domestic animals, including cattle, sheep, other hoof stock, poultry and dogs.