Injured lone wolf hobbling around in northern Minnesota
To be a wolf is to be injured or at least injured quite frequently. This lone wolf that has been hobbling around our area since last October is one such example. This wolf is unable to use his front left foot/leg for some reason and so he wanders with 3 legs.
But wolves, like many wild animals, have a remarkable ability to overcome physical ailments and injuries, and keep on keeping on. For example, this lone wolf has found a way to keep on going for almost a year now without use of his front foot.
And while looks aren’t always the best gauge of a wolf’s health, this wolf does appear to be in pretty good physical condition. He is a pretty big wolf, relatively speaking, and doesn’t look emaciated or really thin. In fact, it appears as though he has not had an issue finding enough food.
There was one interesting observation in mid-winter where this wolf was traveling with the Blood Moon Pack (which is only 2 wolves). You can see this in the video below. But, for whatever reason, this wolf did not officially join the pack as we do not have any other observations of this wolf with the Blood Moon Pair.
As we mentioned at the start, wolves sustaining injuries is quite common. Most of the injuries are relatively minor like lacerations, punctures, and cracked/broken teeth. However, it is not uncommon for wolves to injure their foot/leg and hobble around for a time.
We have many trail camera videos of wolves moving around on 3 legs for a while. In some instances, wolves clearly broke their leg and have to hobble around until the break heals, which can take quite a while to heal. But that is just part of being a wolf and part of the inherent risk of taking down prey large prey with one’s mouth.
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