Recent Wolf sightings

by Terry Martire, Martin
(Orono, Rockwood, Bridlewood, Freelton,)

Terry from Orono wrote to tell us ..... My wife and I own a hobby farm in Orono, Ontario, (highway 115 / 401) and today, in broad daylight, we saw a Wolf beside our barn. We recently lost two cats and with this single Wolf circling the barn, we are pretty sure it was looking for more cats - we can only assume. It ran off, but stood and stared me down for about 20-30 seconds before going. It had distinct white and grey markings on it's face/snout and very "fluffy" in appearance. It stood very tall and bold. This is very concerning with our kids and other family animals around.

Another reader wrote to say ..... I saw a Wolf crossing a quiet road in our area at supper time today. He was bigger than my chocolate lab and beige in colour. I heard howling two nights ago but thought it was Coyotes. Sorry no picture, he was too fast. My dog has been restless at night all summer. Could this be the reason?

Martin from Rockwood reports ..... I was driving home from work at about 1:30 am (September 16, 2014)when I saw a large animal crossing the road. By its size I assumed it was a smallish doe and slowed down in case there were others following behind her, but to my astonishment I saw as I came closer to it an animal with a thick white coat, long legs and proud wolf-like face. It was loping across the highway. It was huge! I was in a state of awe the entire way home. I saw it on the way up the escarpment just south of Speyside.

A reader wrote to tell us what he saw last year ..... I live in Bridlewood and back up on the hydro lines and Bridgestone Drive. We have seen several Coyotes in our backyard and up the hydro lines in the last few years. Last July (2013), just before noon on a Saturday I was sitting at my kitchen table looking out my patio doors. A neighbour's cat was sunning herself on our backdoor neighbour's patio when I caught movement coming across Bridgestone Drive, by the hydro lines. I thought at first it was just someone's pet dog, but as it came closer and started rounding to the back yard, I realized it was no dog - I thought it was a Coyote. I jumped up, yelled at my husband and we both ran out on the deck screaming and clapping our hands loudly. The animal stopped, the cat ran home and the animal just trotted off down the hydro lines. After we both looked at each other, and said almost together, "That was too big for a Coyote, it was a Wolf". Apparently, the next weekend the Wolf came back and had another try for the cat. It tried again in September. The cat is still healthy but there are many posters with "Missing Cat". I personally put up many posters warning pet owners of the dangers of both Wolves and Coyotes. I have done some research on the subject and have come to the conclusion that it was a coy-wolf which is a hybrid between a Wolf & a Coyote but can be almost a large as an eastern Wolf. It was first discovered in Algonquin Park in 1919 and has been going into new suburban areas where easy food and green space is plentiful.

A reader from Freelton, Ontario, wrote to say ..... I have listened to two YouTube videos. One was the 'yipping' of Coyotes and the other was the howling of Wolves. I frequently hear the Wolves in my area near Freelton, Ont!

Another reader wrote to say ..... I was driving southwards on highway 6 headed towards Mt Forest / Durham region and there is a hill on the left hand side of that highway. I pulled off to the shoulder of the highway, as I witnessed a huge pack of what looked to me - to be wolves, not coyotes at all. There were 13 to 15 of these massive sized dark coloured wild animals out in that meadowed area of the field. It was during the winter, their tracks were all over the place. On the top of that hill is a farmstead on the left hand side of the road, above the location where I spotted that pack. I have looked at coyote versus wolves photos to get a closer idea of what they were that I witnessed that day, and I still believe it was a wolf pack. They were way too big to be the common coyotes and I do not believe coyotes travel in packs that size. So do exercise caution, and if farmers are loosing their livestock, I would say, the wolves are making a comeback into southern Ontario. After reading up on the story of what happened to Taylor Mitchell, I would definitely say - do not leave your children to wait at the end of your lane ways for the school-buses, it really is NOT safe to do any longer. Due to the preservationalistic societal thinking of "do not hunt the predators", etc, they are now altering the attitudes of these predators, these predators do, and will kill humans if given an opportunity to do so. For everyone living out in the country today, hikers as well as bikers, I highly suggest reading James Gary Shelton's books. This one single man, has the courage to try to wake up some common sense into all of us by telling us the truth on what these predators are actually doing.