Last year I read a great book all about the wolves in Yellowstone Park called "The Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West" by Nate Blakeslee. I learned so much about the animals and the sad tale of their experience with humans. The book gives you a strong sense of intimacy with these animals as it follows individual wolves, their packs and the people they encounter in their territory. I always knew they were special and endangered, but I appreciate them (and worry about them) so much more now.
Not long after I finished this book, I had a NEAR encounter with a Grey Wolf. I'm sorry to say that this story has a tragic ending that I still can't quite bear to think about, but it's worth sharing about this amazing animal.
My partner and I were out for a walk in a residential neighbourhood in Victoria, BC. We later learned that right where we had been walking, around exactly the same time, a gray wolf was spotted roaming around the neighborhood. We were still new to the city so when we heard this news we were excited and we had a lot of questions. We learned that this event was rare, nothing to be overly concerned about (dogs and small kids inside), and was a visit from Takaya - a beautiful lone wolf that lived on a nearby Discovery Island. This was a well-documented creature, with photographer Cheryl Alexander having spent 6 years taking beautiful photos of him. Takaya had apparently swam (!) to Vancouver Island on occasion in the past, but spent the majority of 7 years on the island totally on his own. This fateful journey to Victoria led to him being tranquilized and relocated north of the city, where he was killed by a hunter only a couple months later. The Nature of Things (Canadian documentary program) did a story about the wolf and has some articles about what happened: https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/features/Conservationist-mourns-Victorias-famed-lonesome-wolf-Takaya
Local artists have since created a mural tribute to Takaya on Discovery Island, which I'm sure you'll appreciate: https://takayalonewolf.com/visual-art/
There is so much drama in the lives of wolves, with and without our intervention. Takaya's heartbreaking story really shows how much these animals mean to us, even as we pose a serious risk to their well-being.
I’ve encountered wolves twice, a few days apart. The first I spied as he loped across the road in northern British Columbia. I pulled over and strained my eyes, searching the low brush for him, but he’d vanished like a wisp.
A couple days later, we set up camp by headlight in a blowing mix of snow and sleet. It was September, and we were the only folks in the campground. I have never been so cold. Burrowed into my sleeping bag, I finally warmed up and started to drift to sleep.
I felt the sound, deep below my sternum, before I heard it. And I was on my feet before I was fully awake, in full fight or flight mode. Another howl, joined by another and another and it was a full chorus. The wolves sounded close enough to touch, and the sound came through the woods in all directions.
I hunkered back down into my sleeping bag, feeling a little sheepish—we were probably safe, right? My friend, who barely awakened, mumbled assent.
I settled in to listen, every hackle on my neck standing on end as that sound flowed around us.
Then I heard a shuffling noise nearby. I held my breath and listened as inches away, something sniffed the tent. Now my friend was awake. We both sat bolt upright. “What the hell is that?” whispered frantically. “Shhhh!!! It will hear us!!!” whispered back.
The investigation of the tent continued for several moments. Finally, I couldn’t take it. “I’m going to chase it off,” I announced. I grabbed the tent zipper and yanked it open. A black mass of fur leaped in. We jumped up, screaming, grabbing for headlamps and shoes as we bolted from the tent.
Standing out in the snow, we looked around. The beast must be in the tent. We pulled back the flap and shined a light, picking up the reflection of eyes inside.
It was a cat. A little black cat who had been declawed. A very happy cat, snuggled into a sleeping bag. We figured she must have been separated from her family, traveling in a motor home, perhaps.
The next day when we rolled into the closest town, we bought cat food and a litter box. We took her to the Mounties and begged the bemused staff to find her a home. One uniformed officer promised he would, and held the cat in the crook of his arm as he waved us on our way.
I received a note a few weeks later, containing a snapshot of the Wolf Cat and her new human girl.
I love imagining a world where we could once again live side by side with beautiful wolves. I would love to hear them in the wild, the closest I come is listening to the coyotes and wolves that visit in my dreams. I have a friend who works at a lighthouse on Vancouver Island and he has sometimes posted pictures of wolves. Thank you for your weekly posts and beautiful art.
"The Wolf that Discovered California," by Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, April 2021: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/wolf-discovered-california-conservation-ranchers-180977179/
From Katharine in Victoria BC:
Last year I read a great book all about the wolves in Yellowstone Park called "The Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West" by Nate Blakeslee. I learned so much about the animals and the sad tale of their experience with humans. The book gives you a strong sense of intimacy with these animals as it follows individual wolves, their packs and the people they encounter in their territory. I always knew they were special and endangered, but I appreciate them (and worry about them) so much more now.
Not long after I finished this book, I had a NEAR encounter with a Grey Wolf. I'm sorry to say that this story has a tragic ending that I still can't quite bear to think about, but it's worth sharing about this amazing animal.
My partner and I were out for a walk in a residential neighbourhood in Victoria, BC. We later learned that right where we had been walking, around exactly the same time, a gray wolf was spotted roaming around the neighborhood. We were still new to the city so when we heard this news we were excited and we had a lot of questions. We learned that this event was rare, nothing to be overly concerned about (dogs and small kids inside), and was a visit from Takaya - a beautiful lone wolf that lived on a nearby Discovery Island. This was a well-documented creature, with photographer Cheryl Alexander having spent 6 years taking beautiful photos of him. Takaya had apparently swam (!) to Vancouver Island on occasion in the past, but spent the majority of 7 years on the island totally on his own. This fateful journey to Victoria led to him being tranquilized and relocated north of the city, where he was killed by a hunter only a couple months later. The Nature of Things (Canadian documentary program) did a story about the wolf and has some articles about what happened: https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/features/Conservationist-mourns-Victorias-famed-lonesome-wolf-Takaya
Local artists have since created a mural tribute to Takaya on Discovery Island, which I'm sure you'll appreciate: https://takayalonewolf.com/visual-art/
There is so much drama in the lives of wolves, with and without our intervention. Takaya's heartbreaking story really shows how much these animals mean to us, even as we pose a serious risk to their well-being.
I’ve encountered wolves twice, a few days apart. The first I spied as he loped across the road in northern British Columbia. I pulled over and strained my eyes, searching the low brush for him, but he’d vanished like a wisp.
A couple days later, we set up camp by headlight in a blowing mix of snow and sleet. It was September, and we were the only folks in the campground. I have never been so cold. Burrowed into my sleeping bag, I finally warmed up and started to drift to sleep.
I felt the sound, deep below my sternum, before I heard it. And I was on my feet before I was fully awake, in full fight or flight mode. Another howl, joined by another and another and it was a full chorus. The wolves sounded close enough to touch, and the sound came through the woods in all directions.
I hunkered back down into my sleeping bag, feeling a little sheepish—we were probably safe, right? My friend, who barely awakened, mumbled assent.
I settled in to listen, every hackle on my neck standing on end as that sound flowed around us.
Then I heard a shuffling noise nearby. I held my breath and listened as inches away, something sniffed the tent. Now my friend was awake. We both sat bolt upright. “What the hell is that?” whispered frantically. “Shhhh!!! It will hear us!!!” whispered back.
The investigation of the tent continued for several moments. Finally, I couldn’t take it. “I’m going to chase it off,” I announced. I grabbed the tent zipper and yanked it open. A black mass of fur leaped in. We jumped up, screaming, grabbing for headlamps and shoes as we bolted from the tent.
Standing out in the snow, we looked around. The beast must be in the tent. We pulled back the flap and shined a light, picking up the reflection of eyes inside.
It was a cat. A little black cat who had been declawed. A very happy cat, snuggled into a sleeping bag. We figured she must have been separated from her family, traveling in a motor home, perhaps.
The next day when we rolled into the closest town, we bought cat food and a litter box. We took her to the Mounties and begged the bemused staff to find her a home. One uniformed officer promised he would, and held the cat in the crook of his arm as he waved us on our way.
I received a note a few weeks later, containing a snapshot of the Wolf Cat and her new human girl.
I love imagining a world where we could once again live side by side with beautiful wolves. I would love to hear them in the wild, the closest I come is listening to the coyotes and wolves that visit in my dreams. I have a friend who works at a lighthouse on Vancouver Island and he has sometimes posted pictures of wolves. Thank you for your weekly posts and beautiful art.