Hunting

New findings give insight into a varied wolf diet — Furbearer Conservation

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Predator eat predator: New findings give insight into a varied wolf diet — Furbearer Conservation

When thinking about the parameters of a typical wolf diet, a common conjuring of likely candidates resembles common prey species such as wild ungulates and ranched livestock. Perhaps the occasional hare or small rodent.

Many studies focusing on the dietary trends of wolves across North America do, in fact, point out that ungulates are a staple. Multiple studies have referenced moose (Alces alces) as making up over 80% of a wolf’s diet. White-tailed deer (the most common prey in Minnesota), elk, caribou, and domestic livestock tend to also be popular and common fare - polarizing the debate of both wolf management and reintroduction in many parts of America.

However, as the Voyageurs Wolf Project of Minnesota highlights in a recent social media post, skilled predators like wolves can sometimes leave us all surprised with what they fancy for a meal.

Photo of 3-Antlered Deer Shared Online By Former Michigan Legislator

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Photo of 3-Antlered Deer Shared Online By Former Michigan Legislator

We can marvel at big whitetail racks all day long, but it's hard to top a deer with a whole extra antler.

Former Michigan legislator Steve Lindberg posted a photo on a particularly unusual deer on his Facebook page Sunday.

This was no albino or piebald buck; it wasn't a big, non-typical farm deer that somehow got out. No, this buck had three antlers.

Taken at Deer.

Why Don’t We Eat Swans Anymore? – Modern Farmer

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Why Don’t We Eat Swans Anymore? – Modern Farmer

Once reserved for royalty – Tudor, not Targaryen – swans have been a taboo food for hundreds of years, thanks in large part to their perceived rarity and beauty. Over the past few decades, however, their numbers have swelled to the thousands in places like Michigan and New York, where the birds are called “destructive” and “invasive.”

Swans have been a taboo food for hundreds of years, thanks in large part to their perceived rarity and beauty. Over the past few decades, however, their numbers have swelled to the thousands in places like Michigan and New York, where the birds are called ‘destructive’ and ‘invasive.’

Various solutions have been proposed, but with one glaring exception: The legalized hunting and yes, eating, of swans. Swans are a bird, after all, no different than ducks and quite similar to a Christmas goose. We eat lambs with little cultural objection and with the “Game of Thrones” TV series stirring interests in medieval cookery, it is not impossible that adventurous eaters might like to give it a try.