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Home | Sports | Club Outdoors

Almanac: Wildlife update

By DOUG SMITH, Star Tribune

Last update: March 23, 2008 - 1:07 AM

Muskrat goes shopping

And then there was the muskrat that kept trying to get into a convenience store in Moose Lake. The muskrat reportedly was hanging out in a car wash for a few days, then moved to the front of the store, where it would try to go inside when customers opened the door. Conservation officer Scott Staples of Carlton and a Moose Lake police officer caught the 'rat' and released it in a wetland far away.

Did you know?

•Fishing pressure has slowed on Upper Red Lake, but those fishing the big lake were having good success catching crappies, reported conservation officer Robert Gorecki of Baudette.

•There's been plenty of wildlife to see in the Ely area recently. Conservation officer Marty Stage reported that a lynx has been hanging around the south shore of Burntside Lake, ahd he saw a black wolf cross the road and walk through a neighbor's yard in broad daylight. And a caller reported seeing a wolf knock down his black Lab puppy. "He ran out the door and scared the wolf off just in time,'' Stage reported.

•A bobcat that had a run-in with a porcupine was spotted by a homeowner near Effie, Minn., recently. The cat had several quills in its nose and near its left eye.

•Anglers were catching perch and crappies on Lake Mille Lacs last week. And the sunfish bite was hot on Lake Minnetonka.

•The spring waterfowl migration is on; large numbers of Canada geese have arrived in Big Stone County, along with ducks and swans. Also, several large flocks of snow geese were spotted.

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