Happy #SpookySZN everyone! We are celebrating this fantastically spooky time of the year by highlighting some of Minnesota’s wildlife that (some) people think are a little bit spooky.

Imagine you’re camping in one of northern Minnesota’s gorgeous forests. You are just about to enjoy another s’more (have all the s’mores you want, we won’t judge) and you hear something you’ve heard only in movies: a wolf howling. Thrilling or chilling? A little bit of both? Have another s’more and get ready to learn more about why wolves don’t deserve their scary reputation.


While spooky movies and stories have long made wolves out to be frightening, in reality you don’t have much to worry about unless you are, say, a sickly white tailed deer, but you’re not, so no worries there. Then of course, there are werewolves, which is a story for another day.

Ironically, as wolves kill prey, they gradually strengthen the overall population. Wolves tend to kill the animals that are less able to escape (like a sick or injured animal), which ensures more food for the remaining healthy animals.

Minnesota is home to over 2,000 wolves living mostly in the north half of the state. They are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

For some definitely thrilling wolf-y fun, try the Wolf Man scratch game, available from your favorite lottery retailer. The game is part of the Universal Monsters series of seven different scary characters and offers a chance of winning a very non-frightening $100,000.

Every time you play the lottery Minnesota wins because lottery proceeds support wolves and other Minnesota wildlife through the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. For example:

You can learn more about all lottery beneficiaries here.