One of the most heart-warming experiences I have ever had with a wild animal took place in August one summer when we went to spend a few days camping on the slopes of Paleo Peak west of Smithers.
We set up our tent in the subalpine flower meadows next to a swale containing a creek and small ponds separated by spongy wet willow patches. I found a lovely spot to sit on at the top of the slope above the wet area. There I read, enjoyed the sunshine and scenery and felt at one with nature.
The second day, while reading, I felt the urge to look up and there I saw a black wolf watching me from the other side of the swale. Only its head, shoulders and front legs were visible as it peered from behind a large shrub.
I quietly said “hello” and talked to it about what a wonderful place it lived and, as I did so, it never took its eyes off me or showed signs of being alarmed. I thanked it for coming to see me and for the magical gift it had given me on my birthday. After a short while, it quietly slipped away from my view.
Another time, while camping in the Horseranch Range in northern B.C., we watched in awe as a wolf chased a caribou right past our campsite just a few feet away. Ironically, we both yelled at the wolf “no” even though it was only doing what comes naturally.
I felt rather ashamed of my reaction, but the wolf just glanced at us, long tongue hanging out its mouth and with a sparkle in its eye as if to say, “I am having fun” and carried on. We do not know the outcome, but console ourselves that it was a natural event.
Once on a dare, I howled, and a real wolf howled back at me – what a thrill. Another time, a wolf walked up a trail behind us, stepping right in our tracks. We have had other encounters with wolves, but never anything scary.
In fact, in most cases, the wolves saw us first and made haste to put as much distance between us and them as possible.
So, you can imagine, after all the wonderful encounters with wolves, how awful I felt when I read that the B.C. Government’s “Wolf Cull” had killed more than 2,100 wolves since the program began in 2015. The so-called “Judas Wolf” program involves placing a collar on a wolf, tracking it back to its pack, then killing the whole family. The program costs taxpayers more than $11 million.
More about this flawed and inhumane project next time.
