Banff National Park troubled by garbage-eating wolves

[Sambhur]

Wildlife officials are keeping a close eye on a pack of wolves seen scavenging garbage in the Johnston Canyon parking lot.

A visitor spotted three of the wolves chowing down on things like fast-food wrappers and paper cups and reported the incident to Banff National Park on Jan. 21.

“That was a very concerning report,” said David Gummer, wildlife ecologist with the Park.

Gummer warned such behaviour can lead to more aggressive behaviour, which means officials then have to make the decision whether to kill the animal.

A staff member was dispatched and verified the report through evidence found in the parking lot. The wolves, however, were gone.

“The wolves were no longer visible,” he said, “but there were two open construction bins for trade waste that had unfortunately been used for some human garbage as well that included food waste such as fast-food wrappers and cups and bottles and cans.

“Some of that had made its way on to the ground somehow and that was how the wolves were able to access it.”

It’s unknown how much food the wolves might have eaten.

“It definitely seemed to be an attraction,” he said, noting that raises concerns for wildlife staff who note this specific wolf pack has been more visible in recent months.

Officials will now step up monitoring of the pack to see whether there’s any evidence of the wolves repeating the behaviour of seeking out food from garbage.



“They are being quite tolerant of people,” he said, noting they have been closing areas and hazing the pack when they get too close to the townsite to keep them away from areas of high human use.

Parks staff are looking into the incident to see whether charges can and should be laid.

Source:
http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/01/26/ba ... ing-wolves

I'll admit, even though this is concerning, I did laugh a little bit at that title.

[Airamyst]

Very interesting title. The food and things I think would be somewhat okay for them, but I hope they don't get hurt but the paper and wrappers and such. Thanks for sharing though~

[Sambhur]

Whether or not the garbage is healthy for them isn't necessarily the biggest issue here. The article states that the wolves are becoming tolerant of people, and that they're looking into if the wolves are repeating this behaviour of seeking out garbage to eat. Wolves that act like this are a safety concern for the people who visit or work in the park, as the wolves no longer fear humans and are in very close proximity to them while searching for food (a recipe for disaster).

[roguemoon]

Interesting to read an article that's so close to home. It is really worrisome that the wolves are wandering so close to people and losing their natural fear, it's a danger to both people and themselves. The wolves know there's an easy source of food available too and will likely return to scavenge again, hopefully people won't toss out more food garbage in these areas and the wolves will abandon it.

Horrible timing too, as there is currently discussions going on by the Alberta government to put limits on the currently unrestricted wolf hunting laws, and there's been a lot of progress in education people on wolves. A bad incident with one of these wolves could set back all the hard work to change people's rather intolerant views on wolves here.

[Nor-easter Forecast]

Haha, wolves checking out McDonald's leftovers. From one angle this article definitely conjures up an amusing image.

On the other hand, I really hope the park staff are able to either frighten off the pack or relocate them successfully. It would be really unfortunate if they had to be eliminated because of the carelessness of some tourists and construction workers. Still, I agree with roguemoon that the destruction of one problem pack is a better solution than a potential incident or attack affecting judgment on the country's entire wolf population. Thank you for posting this; a very interesting read and I will be sure to keep track of the situation.

[Sambhur]

Remember this? I've found some updates.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/b ... -1.3713507

Turns out they've already had to kill two wolves for their bold behaviour and now there's another one that's causing problems. That's a shame. :/ If only wolves could share their own news articles about what happens when a wolf gets too bold in a campsite.

[Koa]

Remember this? I've found some updates.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/b ... -1.3713507

Turns out they've already had to kill two wolves for their bold behaviour and now there's another one that's causing problems. That's a shame. :/ If only wolves could share their own news articles about what happens when a wolf gets too bold in a campsite.

A wolf entering a campsite frequently is pretty troubling. I'm not surprised they had to kill them. Bow Valley wolves seem to be in a heap of drama wherever they go-- either acting bold around people and getting killed or getting hit and killed by trains.

[roguemoon]

Horrible to hear about the two wolves getting put down. I was in Banff just a few days ago actually, and I did see a wolf next the highway (thankfully there are wildlife fences all along that road so it wasn't near any people or at risk of being hit by a car). We were driving, so I only saw it for a few seconds, but it was absolutely beautiful, really nice stark black markings. I wish we could have pulled over to take a photo. I'm really hoping he or she wasn't one of the wolves euthanized!

Was hiking in Johnston Canyon that same day too, and there is indeed a lot of signs up about wolves exercising very unusually bold behaviour. I wonder what could be causing them to come so close to humans? A park ranger i spoke to there said they've never really had issues with the Bow Valley wolves coming into campsites before.

[Koa]

Horrible to hear about the two wolves getting put down. I was in Banff just a few days ago actually, and I did see a wolf next the highway (thankfully there are wildlife fences all along that road so it wasn't near any people or at risk of being hit by a car). We were driving, so I only saw it for a few seconds, but it was absolutely beautiful, really nice stark black markings. I wish we could have pulled over to take a photo. I'm really hoping he or she wasn't one of the wolves euthanized!

Was hiking in Johnston Canyon that same day too, and there is indeed a lot of signs up about wolves exercising very unusually bold behaviour. I wonder what could be causing them to come so close to humans? A park ranger i spoke to there said they've never really had issues with the Bow Valley wolves coming into campsites before.

Considering some of the wolves in Sambhur's article were searching for food, they're probably at least habituated to some degree or feel, like the one wolf that was killed because it kept coming to the campsites, comfortable in areas with campsites and know what campsites can provide (food).

[roguemoon]

Don't believe it was mentioned in the article, but I learned today that the breeding female of the Bow Valley Pack was one of the wolves euthanized. The male was spotted limping and injured as well. Awful to hear, I hope the male is able to recover and hopefully none of the other pack members have to be put down. It's too bad there isn't a way to keep the wolves away from people that doesn't involve killing them.

[Koa]

Don't believe it was mentioned in the article, but I learned today that the breeding female of the Bow Valley Pack was one of the wolves euthanized. The male was spotted limping and injured as well. Awful to hear, I hope the male is able to recover and hopefully none of the other pack members have to be put down. It's too bad there isn't a way to keep the wolves away from people that doesn't involve killing them.

Thanks for that. I'm assuming she was the one that was entering the campsites based on the information provided in the article.

[roguemoon]

Don't believe it was mentioned in the article, but I learned today that the breeding female of the Bow Valley Pack was one of the wolves euthanized. The male was spotted limping and injured as well. Awful to hear, I hope the male is able to recover and hopefully none of the other pack members have to be put down. It's too bad there isn't a way to keep the wolves away from people that doesn't involve killing them.

Thanks for that. I'm assuming she was the one that was entering the campsites based on the information provided in the article.

Recently came across an article showing that the breeding male and at least one or two of the offspring are still alive. I'll try to find it again and share it with you, but I thought you'd like to hear an update on the condition of the breeding male.