Wolves in the Northern Kawarthas?

[wolfe]

ganman, you've had some memorable encounters.

tinbanger, thx to bounties, we lost most of our wolf population, so crucial to deer management ... so glad that crap is over and done with.

mmm, that's one hair-raising encounter your Dad had. I'm glad all turned out OK. Winter hunger can certainly make coyotes or wolves more brazen, but my bet would be that these were coyotes. Wolves are usually quite secretive and will avoid humans contact when given the choice. However, there is certainly the possibility that they were wolves and the dogs just drew them past their natural fear.

I read something interesting about coyotes from a fellow that has done extensive research on wild canines. He took his wife out once, and they sat behind a little hillock in an area where coyotes were known to be active. The guy emits a sound imitating that of a rabbit in a dying scream. They could see coyotes come TEARING towards the sound, snarling and bearing their teeth in a horrific fashion; the wife was quite frightened. As they got closer, the man simply sat up. The coyotes immediately tucked tails in and cleared out of the area. It's usually the way, with the occasional unfortunate encounter. They're not out to "get" anyone. Well, maybe just your cat or puppy; sad, but that's nature. These smart critters are opportunistic, and won't turn down a meal if it's easily had. They don't know it's "wrong" to eat Tabby or Fido.

W.

[banjo]

FFF- that picture is from the Ministry web site and was taken by a very knowledgeable natural historian --http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/csb/news/2 ... MRuntz.jpg
But it just goes to show that identifying wildlife can be tricky... especially when driving down a road or getting startled in the woods

[tinbanger]

Just to clarify and show my age that 'wolf hunt' was about 25 years ago. The friend of my Bro inlaw was a trapper and quite the character as well!

I did have a red fox ' come alive ' in the back of my van once ... but thats a storey for another board.I guess he was attempting catch and release

Tinbanger

[scottish_angler]

When I was visiting Canada last summer, I was invited on a wee canoe trip by my cousins, only 4 days, so I accepted their offer. It was in Algonquin P.P. and I managed to encounter 9 moose, 2 snapping turtles, a beaver and wolves. Now I didn't actually see them, I heard them. They were howling, so I decided to howl back, and they replied! It was really mysterious sounding.