WOLVES: These are not dogs, people!

Friday night, There was a pack of 4 wolves hanging out in the clearing behind the houses on 9th Avenue East, just off McBride. People were seen engaging with the wolves and one person was actually flanked by a couple of them. ARE YOU HIGH? You do NOT engage a wolf or a pack. These are wild animals living by instinct, as they are intended to do. Wolves are NOT dogs. They want to eat your dog (or cat). What part of that do you NOT understand? Of all the dumbass things to do.

Conservation has reportedly given the RCMP clearance to shoot & word on the ‘street’ is they did shoot at them. Hopefully it was just to scare them off & that they didn’t injure or kill them. Hopefully killing the wolves does not become necessary but stupid human stunts like this, will cause them to be hunted and murdered. Completely avoidable. This is yet another classic example of stupid people causing the death of a magnificient animal just following it’s intincts. Scare them off! Make noise, use an air horn or bear spray - hit as many as you can with the spray. It goes about 40 feet and people are getting at least that close to them. The spray won’t kill them but it will cause them pain for a while - anything to teach them PEOPLE are BAD … stay AWAY.

It is unbelievable that people who live in a community on the edge of nature and among the wild animals, can be so unbelievably cavalier with the life of such amazing & magnificent animals such as the wolf. Bear also fall into this category with the difference being – lock up your garbage, be responsible with your fish cleaning or hunting remainders. Don’t dump the carcass in a place where there could be predator/human conflict (i.e. Wantage road etc.).

While a fed bear is a dead bear - a fed/habituated wolf is just as dead. It is almost always caused by stupid humans which can be avoided with a little good old fashioned, common horse sense.

I agree with you and was reading in the Connector this morning that a pack of wolves in Kitimat had to be killed as they had become too habituated, due to the kindness of strangers. We are placing them at risk with what is seemingly innocent behavior by feeding them. It depletes their natural instinct to hunt and when the food source is gone or dwindles, they become bolder and start coming into town and looking for food. Please, let a wild animal, be a wild animal and not a “dog” that needs to be fed. I have to wonder has it already gone too far? if these wolves are already “interacting” more or less with the population, then their fate is not a good one and we have only ourselves to blame. They are beautiful WILD animals, please let them be. Essentially, you feed them, you engage them, ultimately you will kill them.

Absolutely! Thank you Codybear.

For the record, the only time you should see a wolf is when you see it’s arse-end as it heads back into the bush. These sightings around town, are not normal and while they probably followed the deer into town, people engaged them and now the pack is showing signs of habituation. This can be turned around if you scare them off. Yell, make noise, set off your car alarm … do what it takes to show them humans are not to be trifled with. Let’s not stand by and let our magnificent wildlife be killed. We are priviledged to see these animals this close. Now it is time to respect them. If you know anyone engaging them, put a stop to it. Please.

Probably those that were interacting with them, have no respect for these animals at all. Probably showing off for their friends and unfortunately that kind of behavior is going to bite them in the ass, literally!

Just curious here. I know there are documented cases of black bears attacking humans. Are there any documented cases of humans being attacked by wolves in BC? I do agree though that we should be cautious around wild animals.

You would have to double check with KAIEN ISLAND WOLVES but to my knowledge, there have been no known attacks on humans by HEALTHY wolves. Any attacks were either because someone fed a wolf and then stopped, or the wolf was sick. Now, if you have food in the backpack and notice a wolf following you, GET RID OF THE FOOD.

[quote=“kbrentzen”]

You would have to double check with KAIEN ISLAND WOLVES but to my knowledge, there have been no known attacks on humans by HEALTHY wolves. Any attacks were either because someone fed a wolf and then stopped, or the wolf was sick. Now, if you have food in the backpack and notice a wolf following you, GET RID OF THE FOOD.[/quote]

AND don’t take your dog into Butze – wolves are territorial and dogs in their territory equals disaster. They will be killed by the wolf for invading their territory. This is instinctual behaviour.

[quote=“kbrentzen”]

You would have to double check with KAIEN ISLAND WOLVES but to my knowledge, there have been no known attacks on humans by HEALTHY wolves. Any attacks were either because someone fed a wolf and then stopped, or the wolf was sick. Now, if you have food in the backpack and notice a wolf following you, GET RID OF THE FOOD.

AND don’t take your dog into Butze – wolves are territorial and dogs in their territory equals disaster. They will be killed by the wolf for invading their territory. This is instinctual behaviour.[/quote]

I think Butze is fine, I’ve taken my dog down there many times and never seen a wolf there, telling people to not take their dogs out on a trail is going a little over the top here, although I agree that people should avoid wolfs and not feed them as nothing good will come of it but telling people to not take their dogs on our only nice trail in town is getting a bit ridiculous.

Do you have links or evidence of wolf attacks on humans? I agree that we need to be cautious around wild animals.

[quote=“hitest”]

Do you have links or evidence of wolf attacks on humans? I agree that we need to be cautious around wild animals.[/quote]

Here is a statement by the International Wolf Centre.

Experts Reassure Public Following Rare Fatal Wolf Attack

December 30, 2005

Following the recent death of a Canadian man from an apparent wolf attack, experts at the International Wolf Center say that wolf attacks remain extremely rare and usually occur after people feed wolves or allow wolves to eat garbage.

While hiking in remote Northern Saskatchewan in early November, 22-year-old geology student Kenton Joel Carnegie was apparently killed by a pack of four wolves. If an ongoing investigation confirms that wolves were the cause of death, it will be the first recorded instance of healthy, wild wolves killing a human in North America. The Canadian wildlife biologist conducting the investigation has found evidence that residents in the area may have been feeding the wolves thought to be responsible for Carnegie’s death.

A few organizations and publications are using the incident to raise the alarm that there will be many more attacks and people should be afraid. Scientists disagree.

“Fatal wolf attacks have always been, and will continue to be, extraordinarily rare events,” says Dr. L. David Mech, founder of the non-profit International Wolf Center and a wolf biologist with the United States Geological Survey. “Mr. Carnegie’s death is a terrible tragedy but one fatal wolf attack in the recorded history of North America does not warrant widespread alarm.”

Though this was the first recorded fatal attack in North America, researchers have documented 26 non-fatal attacks, most of which resulted in only minor injuries. The common factor in 21 of those attacks as well as Carnegie’s death is wolves that received human food.

According to the Center, wolves are generally shy animals that fear humans and tend to avoid human-inhabited areas. Wolves can lose their aversion to people, however, when they have frequent close contact with humans and receive food rewards for their boldness. Once this happens, wolves are much more likely to approach humans and human-populated areas. This leads to trouble for wolves and people.

“When we teach wolves to lose their fear of humans or associate humans with food the chances of conflict greatly increase,” said Dr. Mech. “The results can include dead pets, dead wolves, and, very rarely, attacks on people.”

Wolves are not the only animals that cause problems when fed or taught not to fear people. Garbage bears and raccoons are the most infamous examples but the problem is also seen in deer, geese, rodents and countless other animals.

Though still rare, wolf attacks are increasing as expanding human populations move into wolf country and collide with wolf populations that are also expanding in many places. Of the 27 documented wolf attacks in North America, all but five occurred between 1970 and the present. “It is predictable,” says Mech. “People and wolves are living closer together, a small but increasing number of wolves are being fed and learning not to fear people, and the number of wolf attacks is increasing accordingly. We do need to pay attention to this trend but we also have to maintain perspective that wolf attacks will always be rare relative to the other risks we face in daily life.”

Fortunately, people can take action to ensure that wolf attacks remain rare. Experts at the Center recommend that people follow three simple guidelines:

Do not feed wolves. Do not leave food outdoors, including pet food. Do not offer food to wolves from a vehicle or a residence.
Do everything you can to avoid teaching wolves not to fear people. Do not let wolves get close to you, and do not let them learn to be comfortable in human-inhabited areas. If a wolf approaches, try to scare it off by making loud noises and making yourself appear larger with coats or other objects.
Report wolves that seek human food or frequent human areas to wildlife officials. Do not take the law in your own hands. It is illegal and dangerous to try to kill or injure wolves in the lower 48 states. Wildlife officials can teach problem wolves to avoid humans and, if necessary, kill animals that cause severe problems.

In the contiguous United States, gray wolf populations have been reestablished through federal wolf recovery programs in the Lake Superior region, Northern Rockies, and an area straddling the border of central Arizona and New Mexico. About 5,000 wolves presently roam these areas with nearly 4,000 in the Lake Superior region alone.

For more information, read: “Four Wolves Suspected in Man’s Death in Remote Area of Canada”.


Founded in 1985, the International Wolf Center is a nonprofit educational organization that advances the survival of wolf populations around the world by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wild lands and their role in their future. The Center pursues this mission through educational initiatives that include a membership program, learning vacations, an interpretive center in Northern Minnesota, international conferences, youth outreach programs, teacher education resources and workshops, a quarterly magazine and a Web site, www.wolf.org.

Media Contact:
Mesereau Public Relations
1-720-842-5271
mona_mesereau@msn.com
tom_mesereau@msn.com

The problem is, they are dogs. They can use the same blood bank at a veterinarian.

We don’t usually kill dogs in the Americas for pleasure and have the state take a cut of the dogfighting profits because we “have to” to pay for managing the 70-80 million domesticated ones, usually do not eat dogs or wear or display dog fur unless it is from a wolf. Black wolf coat? You’re wearing dog color fur. The unique beta-defensin mutation at the K-locus which arose in dogs. And turned out so useful to wolves it spread throughout the subarctic North American wolf population, showing they are all part dog in those populations with any black wolves. Most dogs are very reluctant to hurt people or treat them as prey animals, and the same wolves were exposed to those genes. Would not usually hunting people be a useful trait they kept too?

Seen any cave lions, sabertooths, cave or short-faced bears, cave hyenas or the packs of big dire wolves starting where todays’ largest wolves leave off, the predators around about until that happened? I wonder what their mistake was.

Why hunt one of these big shy dogs to provide yourself with a pelt or a rug that symbolizes the grief and loss suffered by the other members of the pack? This has to be the epitome of bad taste - I wouldn’t confront the killer, but if he should complain about acts of alleged dogfighters or similar things I would not be able resist pointing out that they had done worse, were displaying the fact, and ask them how the family of wolves are currently doing without the “trophy” that once helped provide the others with food, protection, and companionship.

The USA has some 70-80 million domesticated wolves. The mere handful of wild wolves could very well be treated much as the other dogs are, even though the wolves have brains that are double-digit percentages larger and have a few instincts needed to live in the wild, which people removed to fill those roles themselves. At least with something near the same consideration, not a resource to be “harvested”, with enough respect as the animal we chose to turn into the one we trust with our children.

[quote=“kbrentzen”]
“Fatal wolf attacks have always been, and will continue to be, extraordinarily rare events,” says Dr. L. David Mech, founder of the non-profit International Wolf Center and a wolf biologist with the United States Geological Survey. “Mr. Carnegie’s death is a terrible tragedy but one fatal wolf attack in the recorded history of North America does not warrant widespread alarm.”[/quote]

Thanks for that. So no attacks at all in BC then, and only one recorded attack in all of North America. I think that your note of caution is a good warning to people. Wolves are wild animals and are therefore unpredictable. I had a close encounter with wolves on Park Avenue very early in the morning when I was walking several years ago. They came close to me, but left me alone (they did not act aggressively towards me).

There was a wolf attack on the Central Coast a few years ago. Conservation staff and DFO staff were sent out ot dispatch it. It was a sickly female.
canada.com/vancouversun/news … 6820d548eb
The article also describes an incident around Tofino, caused by a wolf who had been fed. It tried to pull a gentleman out of his tent durin the night.

And now a relatively new article concerning wolves killing dogs.
www2.canada.com/victoriatimescol … c3f2d4b916

From the second article:
A 2002 study by Mark McNay of the Alaska department of fish and game documented 80 cases in which wolves showed little fear of humans in Alaska and Canada over the past century.

His study documented 39 cases of aggression from healthy wolves (six involving humans with dogs), 12 of known or suspected rabies, and 29 cases of fearless but non-aggressive behaviour. Aggressive non-rabid wolves bit people in 16 cases, six of them severe. He could find no evidence of wolves having killed people.

There is some question as to the statistics, even whether something can be considered as aggression or predatory behaviour.

Some of the anti-wolf researchers are classifying mere investigation that way, mouthing hands and arms lightly, even though when tested with captured wild wolves being tamed by immersion - a human quietly sitting in the room with them much of the day for either about 60 days or 6 months, I forget which - the behavior they claim will someday be followed by attacks, the mouthing and nibbling and tugging at clothing and hands and hair, is followed by them not attacking but but becoming friendly and socialized to the human, and learning to transfer that trust to other humans. Also, in those tests, back in the 1960s-70s, the wolves that experienced any frightening response or injury from the human, even accidental, were set back in their behavior to frightened and became resistant to further socialization.

Does that study document the details of the “aggression”? “Bites” can include highly inhibited ones meant as self-defense or warnings, I assume it had to leave a mark. Really it is basically hard to tell if the thread title is misleading but correct because one might expect about the same or worse from an equal number of truly feral dogs not at all raised by humans.

Wolves that are habituated, and cruising the streets for their next opportunisitc meal, need to be shot. They can’t be relocated and no one in our community wants to be the one to say we should have acted sooner to prevent an incident.

Unlike bears that come into communities for garbage, fruit trees, etc - wolves are predatory and are looking for one thing…fresh and easy meat. If there was nothing in town that served as food for the wolves ( feral cats, pets and deer), then they wouldn’t be here. Once they overcome their natural caution of coming into human territories, they will be here until their food supply is gone or until they realize that humans=bad news.

If we don’t shoot them, they won’t be leaving. They will be feeding on all of the wonderful deer that we have in town and they will knock off a good number of the cats. I’m pretty sure I would rather see the children in our community play in a park beside a doe feeding than beside a wolf feeding.

Your statement is a bias one as you can see with this statement with the wonderful deer and children playing beside doe…
I too love seeing the deer in town, and more importantly healthy deer, I have not seen as many deer this year with tumors. Why is that? Because they get picked off by the wolves leaving the health ones. This town has a very large deer problem and guess what they are habituated deer. They make it easy for the wolves. Also this year the wolves came in to town a bit latter in the year and last year they stayed more on the othe side of MNT Hays. Each year is different

As for the cats I have seen feral cats living near the wolf den site for over a year. I think wild and domesticated cats are farless likely being devoured by the big bad wolf. Also the wolves on the coast are different then the gray wolf found in the interior of BC, coastal wolves are smaller and red in color. If the wolves were all shot you would see a pack hear in no time, there is a few different packs in the area.

If you see a wolf make noise throw rocks , sticks or your iPod. And never run away, Unless you want to be chased. keep your dogs and cats indoors at night. For more info check out kaienislandwolves.com

When I have come across wolf scat, I have found bones and fur in it. Yes, as a biologist, I look. I would estimate the broken bones I last saw in scat near the seaplane base were large enough to belong to a cat or small marmot.

I have wolves transitting through my yard regularly and one within 5 feet of my dog… I had to go out with pots and pans and try to scare it away. It was not scared…
He seemed to cnsider his options and the work required to try and take my 30lb dog…

I think it wouldn’t be as bad if people didn’t throw deer carcasses in the ravine near my home or behind the golf course.
THey are wild animals seeking meals, and I don’t want them to find a meal in my back yard.

Astro,

If I am biased because I don’t want see children play beside feeding wolves, then yes…guilty as charged. If wolves wouldn’t harm humans, why post that you should never run from a wolf? The answer is because they will chase you and this will trigger an instinctive response to attack…but I am pretty sure they are still harmless, right?

As far as wolves only eating sick deer, you have been watching far too many “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” reruns and should change your username to Marlin Perkins! The greatest lie that we are told about predatory animals is that they only feed on the sick and old. Predators are not selective - they are opportunistic. They will take whatever is easy prey, including healthy, young and sick.

I do agree with you that the deer population is part of the problem here too. If there were no deer here, the wolves would not stick around either because they need meat to survive, not garbage or fish skins at the docks.

[quote=“Gib Nosnoj”] Predators are not selective - they are opportunistic. They will take whatever is easy prey, including healthy, young and sick.
[/quote]

Again, you need to provide proof that we are all in danger from wolves. As I previously mentioned two large wolves walked right by me on Park Avenue several years ago. They angled across Park Avenue and came to within two meters from me. They could have easily attacked me, but they chose not to do so. I agree that we should be cautious and take care around potentially dangerous predators, but the truth is that wolves do not attack humans that often.

As my French-Canadian neighbour in Rupert used to say: (read in Quebecois accent) Let’s hope all these wolves have read the same studies as well, and know they’re not supposed to attack humans.