A small dog sleeping on a porch bench was snatched by a wolf in the early morning hours of Nov. 25 in Ahousaht. Leon Titian, 28, was up late watching movies when he heard activity on the porch. He raised the window blind to see a wolf standing at the top step of the two-storey flight of stairs.
“There was no barking. I just saw a fricking huge wolf at the top of the stairs and it just snatched our dog off of the bench,” said Leon.
Titian says their dog Alice was sleeping when it was taken. He said there was another wolf standing between his neighbor’s house and the Band Administration Office. The pair of wolves ran off together.
He and his brother Steven ran after the wolves, hoping it would drop their dog but the wolves disappeared down a dark footpath leading toward the harbour.
“We heard her last yelp. We tried to track them, but couldn’t,” said Leon.
Just a few hours later Ahousaht resident Tom Paul was driving his truck near the new subdivision when he saw four wolves chasing his neighbors’ dog. He said he intervened by driving his truck between the dog and the wolves, cutting them off. In doing so he struck and killed one of the wolves. The dog managed to escape.
“They are getting way too comfortable,” said Paul of the wolves. He sees them all the time near his home in Ahousaht’s new subdivision.
Elected Chief Greg Louie agrees that the wolves are getting too comfortable. He lives near the harbour and walks to the nearby Administration Office. One morning he said he heard a loud noise that he thought was a shotgun blast on his way to work. Upon investigation he learned that a resident let off a bear banger (a type of fire cracker designed to scare bears) after seeing a wolf on the shoreline below his residence, and near where Chief Louie had been walking.
On Nov. 24, Peter Frank Jr. was out with his dog at the new subdivision when his dog alerted him. “There were two wolves that crept up on me and Fuller walking in the over-grown lots; I would have never seen them if it weren’t for Fuller,” Frank said.
The wolves were very close and his dog charged them, protecting his master. Frank said he made it to his home, which was nearby and brought Fuller inside. He went back out to throw rocks at the wolves and they eventually wandered away.
These attacks are just the latest in a series of reported wolf attacks on dogs in Ahousaht. At least half a dozen dogs have been mauled or killed in the past several months.
Wolf sightings in the village both at night and during the day are common and people fear for the safety of the children. One couple reported that they scared a wolf away after spotting it standing near their house watching children jumping on a trampoline.
Paul recognizes that killing wolves in Ahousaht culture is controversial, given the spiritual significance placed on them. He went to his elders for advice and was told to bring the carcass of the wolf he ran over to the ocean and to pray; it would someday come back as a kakawin (orca).
While most recognize the cultural sacredness of the wolf, many believe that the safety of the community and especially of the children comes first.
Leon has extended family living in the home, including a young niece and his elderly, disabled grandmother, who likes to sit out on the porch for her late night smoke.
The family home is very near the Thunderbird Hall where children gather in the evening to play. When it’s time to go home many of them walk dark trails and it worries Leon.
“The wolves are dangerous and they’re too close to the people,” he said. “There’s lots of kids in the hall and we’re the closest ones able to deal with it and we will, if we have to,” he said, adding he will keep a rifle handy.
Chief Louie says he and his council are concerned for the safety of the people. “[The wolves are] getting too comfy and they’re coming right up onto people’s decks and porches.”
Ahousaht Council has been in contact with the RCMP and plan to meet with them, the Conservation Officer and concerned members to discuss solutions in the very near future.
Conservation Officer Steve Ackles contacted Ha-Shilth-Sa saying they were in Ahousaht earlier this year. “We were there to meet with chief and council and to give advice; and it was stressed that the wolf is a very spiritual to the people,” he said.
Flores Island, where Ahousaht is located, is remote and is mostly forested wilderness so there will always be wolves, bears and cougars nearby.
Ackles said that judging from the reports he’s been hearing from Ahousaht in the past 24 hours he suspects the wolf activity has been going on for a while and that the offending wolves are habituated and/or food conditioned, meaning that they’ve learned to depend on easy food sources in the village and are losing their natural fear of humans.
If that is the case, he said trapping wolves is ineffective because it is indiscriminate. The goal must be to identify the offending wolf and take it out. By doing that there is a chance that the rest of the pack will move on. “They are very intelligent animals and if they see their leader is gone they may decide it’s time to move on,” said Ackles.
He is hopeful that the wolf that was killed was a pack leader or key wolf as he called it. Ackles advises to see how the pack reacts. “If it’s the right wolf the pack just might stay away,” he added.
According to Parks Canada, wolf attacks on humans are rare but it is not unheard of. In 2000, a food-conditioned wolf attacked a man sleeping by his campfire on nearby Vargas Island.
Habituated wildlife can threaten the safety of humans and so it is important to be predator aware. Keep children close when walking and carry deterrents like a walking stick, air horn or pepper spray. When in predator territory, avoid walking at dusk, dawn or night. People walking alone are more at risk than those walking in groups.
When it comes to shooting wolves, Ackles says people have a right to protect property – and dogs are considered property – but safety is paramount.
“There should be a viable threat and people shouldn’t be endangered (by people with weapons),” he added.
In the meantime he urges people to call the 24-hour RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) call centre to report wildlife activity. The number is 1-877-952-7277. People should also call to report if a wolf is killed.
In order to prevent wild animals from becoming habituated or food conditioned, Ackles said people should provide a barrier between their pets and wildlife, whether that is keeping them indoors or in an outdoor pen. In addition, dogs should be spayed or neutered.
Dogs that are not altered may give scent signals that either attract wolves, in the case of female dogs, or trigger territorial aggression in the case of male dogs.
People should also manage attractants. Remains from fishing and hunting should be disposed of away from the village.
Advice from Parks Canada
If you encounter a wolf or cougar:
• Pick up small children.
• Gather the group together.
• Do not run.
• Do not crouch down.
• Make and maintain eye contact.
• Wave your arms and shout.
• Do all you can to appear larger and to scare the animal away.
• Avoid scaring the animal into the path of other people.
• Use a noise maker like an air horn or throw things if necessary.
• Never approach a carnivore or its den site.
If a wolf or cougar holds its ground, convince it that your group is not prey and you are dangerous!
• Do not turn your back. Maintain eye contact.
• Create and maintain space between you and the animal.
• Back away slowly.
• If you encounter wolf pups or cougar kitten, leave the area immediately. Do not approach.
If a wolf or cougar approaches you:
• Throw sticks, stones etc. or use pepper spray (if you know how to use it)
• If the aggression escalates, fight back with a stick, your fists, or whatever is at hand. Hit the animal in the eyes and nose.
If you see an animal carcass, leave the area immediately.
