Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
National

Warning Issued In Banff National Park After Female Wolf Approaches Campers

The Canadian Press, 04 Sep, 2018 11:36 PM
  • Warning Issued In Banff National Park After Female Wolf Approaches Campers
BANFF, Alta. — A warning is in effect in Banff National Park after a wolf approached campers in a busy campground.
 
 
Parks Canada ecologist Jesse Whittington said the warning on the Bow Valley Parkway, which runs between Banff and Lake Louise, was issued this week because a collared wolf entered the Castle Mountain campground at night on Aug. 27.
 
 
"She searched through several occupied campsites for food and she approached campers to within one metre and then left the campground," Whittington said in an interview Tuesday.
 
 
"She did not receive any food rewards, which is great, but her persistent behaviour while people were watching and following her was concerning.
 
 
"Once wolves and wildlife become conditioned to human food, it's so hard to change their behaviour."
 
 
The wolf, which found a mate and had at least four pups this spring, was one of the members in the Bow Valley pack that was fitted with a tracking collar in 2016.
 
 
"She was a yearling in 2016 when the Bow Valley Pack became food conditioned," said Whittington. "She and her father were always the most wary wolves.
 
 
"Throughout the summer, she has been roaming throughout the Bow Valley and has always been skittish around people and has not entered into campgrounds, so we were concerned when we received this report of her entering the campground and clearly looking for food."
 
 
Two of the other members of the pack were shot and killed by wildlife officials in the summer of 2016 when they became aggressive with campers.
 
 
Both wolves had gotten into food and garbage left at campsites.
 
 
Whittington said parks staff have been monitoring the wolf and she hasn't returned to the campground.
 
 
But he reminded campers to follow park rules, which include keeping food and garbage secure and not feeding wildlife and giving animals space.
 
 
"It's imperative that she's not presented with any opportunities to get into any human food," said Whittington.

MORE National ARTICLES

Indigenous Activist Arrested After Trans Mountain Protest In B.C.

Indigenous Activist Arrested After Trans Mountain Protest In B.C.
An Indigenous political activist was briefly detained Saturday following a Trans Mountain pipeline protest in British Columbia's North Thompson Provincial Park.

Indigenous Activist Arrested After Trans Mountain Protest In B.C.

Climber With Broken Leg Rescued After Fall Into Mountain Ravine Near Hope, B.C.

Climber With Broken Leg Rescued After Fall Into Mountain Ravine Near Hope, B.C.
 A climber has been airlifted to hospital after breaking his leg in a fall on Mount Ogilvie near Hope, B.C.

Climber With Broken Leg Rescued After Fall Into Mountain Ravine Near Hope, B.C.

Short Voyage To Car-Free Sidney Spit Offers Beach-Front Camping, Beaches, Hikes

Short Voyage To Car-Free Sidney Spit Offers Beach-Front Camping, Beaches, Hikes
SIDNEY, B.C. — The passenger ferry departs the pier at the north end of Beacon Avenue in Sidney, B.C., bound for the long, thin sandbar that marks Sidney Spit.

Short Voyage To Car-Free Sidney Spit Offers Beach-Front Camping, Beaches, Hikes

Man Pricked By Syringe Hidden In Hollow Fence Post Near Downtown Victoria

Man Pricked By Syringe Hidden In Hollow Fence Post Near Downtown Victoria
Victoria police are urging the public not to stick their hands into places they haven't checked after a man was allegedly pricked by a syringe in a hollow fence post on Friday.

Man Pricked By Syringe Hidden In Hollow Fence Post Near Downtown Victoria

Vancouver’s Rare ‘Corpse Flower’ Blooms For The First Time, Get A Whiff While You Can

Vancouver’s Rare ‘Corpse Flower’ Blooms For The First Time, Get A Whiff While You Can
VANCOUVER — A unique and exotic tropical plant, acclaimed for its size and abhorred for its smell, is blooming at a Vancouver conservatory.

Vancouver’s Rare ‘Corpse Flower’ Blooms For The First Time, Get A Whiff While You Can

NPD Leader Jagmeet Singh Fuels Speculation As He Visits Burnaby South Riding

NPD Leader Jagmeet Singh Fuels Speculation As He Visits Burnaby South Riding
Federal New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says while he has been encouraged to run for Parliament in the newly vacated British Columbia riding of Burnaby South, he won't be making an announcement yet.

NPD Leader Jagmeet Singh Fuels Speculation As He Visits Burnaby South Riding