GORE BAY—Gore Bay residents are being advised to be mindful of their children’s, dogs’ and cats’ safety after several sightings of wolves/coyotes have been reported within town limits. Deer have been reported to have been killed by the wolves/coyotes.
“I saw a large timber wolf (last) Thursday evening on the way back from the arena with my daughter Patricia in the car,” stated Kevin Bailey of Gore Bay, in an interview with the Recorder this past Sunday. “The wolf was on the road at the bottom of the Doc Strain hill. It was a good-sized timber wolf and it went up the deer trail and over the bluff.”
“The next morning a dead deer was found in the field on property that is owned by Jim Wright,” said Mr. Bailey.
“A wolf killed a deer on my property last Thursday night,” confirmed Jim Wright on Monday. “I was walking our dogs and we saw all the blood from the deer kill and the wolf tracks.”
“Norm Fogal saw one wolf one morning travelling from this place onto my property,” continued Mr. Wright. Other reports have come into the Recorder of sightings of wolves/deer, or of their having killed deer within the town of Gore Bay in the past few days.
Douglas Campbell, a Gore Street resident, reported seeing a wolf on two separate occasions earlier this week. “On Monday at approximately 5:10 am I saw a wolf walking down the middle of the road, out of my front window. I was sitting in my Lazyboy chair when I saw this wolf walking down the street and I was yelling at Marilyn (his wife) ‘that’s a wolf.’ It was walking northbound in the middle of the road. Marilyn took a look at it when it passed the neighbour’s house across the street and agreed it was a wolf.”
Then “at approximately 6:20 am, after Marilyn had gone to work, I spotted a glimpse of something on the shoulder of the road on the right hand side,” said Mr. Campbell. “I am 99 percent sure it was a wolf.” He said he is most concerned if wolves are around for kids’, dogs’ and cats’ safety.
“I know of three deer that were taken in the last couple of weeks by coyotes/wolves right in town, and there is likely more than that,” said Ian Anderson, a retired Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) conservation officer on Tuesday.
“There is no real reason for concern for humans, but there might be for pets in town,” said Mr. Anderson. “Coyotes/wolves are known to take cats and small dogs. If the animals are running at large I would suggest there could be a risk to these pets.”
Mr. Anderson, who is also a licenced trapper, said, “I know there is at least one family unit of coyotes in and around Gore Bay. The tracks I’ve seen are those of a coyote, but I have been told there is at least one single wolf around. We do have a few timber wolves on the Island; I have seen two since the fall hunt season. I normally trap two or three timber wolves every year.”
“It would be very unusual for a timber wolf to be in town, coyotes adapt easier to humans in towns but I have heard there is one single animal (wolf) in the area,” said Mr. Anderson.
“It is dangerous to anyone who has small children or pets, and they need to be careful with wolves around,” said Mr. Wright.
“We need to let people know this problem to let people know they are in residential areas,” said Mr. Bailey, “and to keep their children, and pets inside.”
“I’ve heard wolves howling from my road when I’m waiting to be picked up for a ride to work in the morning,” said Mr. Bailey, “and now they are taking deer down in residential areas, and I’ve seen wolf trail tracks every morning as well.”
“If there are wild animals in town, it would be the same for bears, if they are causing a disturbance this is an MNRF (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) issue,” said Gore Bay Mayor Ron Lane. “If we get reports of pets missing or taken by wolves/coyotes then we would ask officially ask the MNRF to do something on this issue.”
