FIELD, B.C. – Parks Canada was forced to euthanize an injured young wolf that showed up in a backyard in the community of Field in Yoho National Park.
Parks Canada officials say a homeowner called late in the afternoon on June 14 to report a wolf with a visible leg injury digging in their backyard garden.
“Despite their loud efforts to scare the wolf away, it showed no reaction,” said Saundi Stevens, acting wildlife ecologist for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay field unit.
“Our wildlife management staff responded and they found the wolf still in the garden, scavenging on some of the herbs and digging for what we were told were potatoes.”
Staff hazed the male wolf and Stevens said it reluctantly moved into the forest behind the house.
Following the wolf into the woods, staff found the animal lying down under a tree, she said, and was clearly in “physically poor condition” and “very thin.”
“It was unable to move any further and it wasn’t lifting its head even with staff in fairly close proximity to it,” Stevens said.
“The wolf was showing signs of what we think was probably a longer term health decline and maybe unable to hunt for natural food, which would explain why it would be in a vegetable garden,” she added.
“That is not normal behaviour for a wolf, so our staff at that time decided to euthanize the wolf out of concern for the animal’s welfare, but also for public safety.”
The homeowner reported there was a gash on the wolf’s right hind leg, but Stevens said staff also observed it had a fairly significant limp on the left hind leg.
“After it was euthanized, we assessed the body condition and it definitely had suffered some sort of trauma to the left leg,” she said.
“It wasn’t an open wound, but there’s definitely some sort of internal trauma there, and then the gash on the right leg was fairly superficial.”
A necropsy will be performed on the wolf by a wildlife health specialist.
“That hasn't happened yet, so we don't really know the exact cause of its injury or illness at this time,” said Stevens.
Stevens encouraged residents and visitors to report all wildlife injuries or incidents immediately.
“It’s only because that homeowner chose to call us right away that we were actually able to catch up to the wolf quickly,” she said.
“Please report all wildlife incidents promptly to Parks Canada dispatch because that’s really what helps us keep wildlife and the public safe.”
This particular wolf was not known to Parks Canada and appeared to be travelling alone.
There is at least one wolf pack that travels through Yoho National Park.
“We used to have two radio collars on that wolf pack, but there hasn’t been for the past year and a bit so we don’t have any kind of knowledge on where that pack's been recently,” said Stevens.
“They were pretty widespread through kind of the McArthur and Kicking Horse area and they definitely roam in and out of Yoho National Park.”
