This video shot by a local; Miguel Borges,
It was taken this morning.
As you can see in the video the wolf is not very concern with the traffic and people. Some of the wolves found on the island have become conditioned to humans and others have been habituated to humans by individuals in the community who have taken it upon themselves to feed them. Those people who feed wild wolves are not doing that animal a favor they are most certainly going to be the cause of that animal (wolf) demise.
Residents of Prince Rupert, B.C., are getting nervous about the number of wolves turning up around town.
In less than a year, there have been 136 wolf sightings reported by the residents of the isolated coastal community.
I have been lucky enough to track and film the pack of wolves that live near Prince Rupert, BC over the last 3 years. We have shared many encounters with these magnificent animals. I have too say that I never felt threatened by the wolves. When you are in the animals domain you need to understand the animal you are tracking and give them the area to roam around and check you out before getting close to a wild animal. Most of the encounters we have had were in a 5 mile radius of the den site.
Secrets of the coast wolf In the towering forests of the raincoast of British Columbia, a group of scientists have made a new discovery. But what they are learning is something the natives here have known for generations.
Biologist Paul Paquet, along with a handful of dedicated scientists have found a new subspecies of the gray wolf. Unlike its brothers that roam across North America on the open plain, this wolf swims, fishes for salmon and hops from island to inlet through water and rough terrain. The coast wolf could leave and expand its territory, but it does not because it knows, like the Heiltsuk First Nations people who share the land and water, that there is no place like this on earth.
As long as there has been the wolf in Bella Bella, there has been the Heiltsuk, a traditional First Nations culture that has celebrated the spirits of the land and animals, including the coast wolf. The lush forests, calm inlets and the mountains around Bella Bella are a living eden. In fact, there is more biodiversity in this area than anywhere on earth – even the mighty Amazon rainforest.
Canadian Geographic goes on the trail to this unique place where science and traditional knowledge intersect and are working together to unravel the secrets of this unique wolf subspecies and the world they inhabit.
