That indefatigable wanderer of the woods, Doug Thorburn, has shared his pictures of a family of wolves, which he encountered beside a mountain road in the south Selkirks in late July.
Fifty years ago, wolves were considered to be extirpated from around here. We now have a low density population. I have never seen one in my own wanderings.
Doug Thorburn’s picture is used with permission.
Hi Alistair
Wolves are not native to this pre-settler landscape. They have found their way into our region from Yellowstone by using the clearance under power lines, and are having a controversial impact now that they are here. See my recent article in the North Columbia Monthly, p. 10-11 https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/3e7a7b_b61dc53ca5c04352958aa58d79f64111.pdf
Sorry to have to miss your talk at Kokanee Park Nature Centre last week!
Eileen, you say, “Wolves are not native to this pre-settler landscape.” However, that is neither what your article nor the historical evidence says. Your article, following a study by Mowat, and an earlier one by Tompa, said, “By the 1960s, hunting had substantially diminished the once-healthy wolf populations across the West.” So, wolves once had a locally healthy population, something further attested to by Fannin in 1903. Local wolves have now recovered somewhat after humans had harassed an earlier population into near extirpation.
How interesting and lovely to see and hear about local wolves!
As recently as the 1990’s, reports of wolf sightings in the west kootenay would have been met with scepticism. I saw one at Jumbo pass in the early 90’s, which could have been a transient from the healthy population in the east kootenay. Currently, while not commonly seen, it is not unheard of to see or hear wolves while out in the local woods. I am curious to see how the re-balancing of the local ungulate populations may unfold with the return of a viable wolf population.
In about 1949 & later Wolves were often seen at Sheep Creek near Salmo. My sister remembers them quite well, sad I just remember my family discussing them but I wasn’t old enough to witness them.