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Dead wolf found near Chesterman Beach

A dead wolf found on the outskirts of Tofino last Tuesday is believed to have been the victim of a wolf-on-wolf attack.

A pedestrian walking through a wooded area between the Pacific Rim Highway and South Chesterman Beach stumbled upon the wolf and alerted Pacific Rim National Park staff who reported the finding to the BC Conservation Officer service around 12:30 p.m. Visible injuries to its body suggest the wolf was taken out by another wolf or wolves, according to Conservation Officer Brittany Mueller "We did locate some puncture wounds and cuts on the hindquarter, neck and foot," she said. "From what I could see it looks like it did get in a scrap with another animal."

A provincial wildlife veterinarian will perform a necropsy to confirm the cause of death and determine if there were any underlying reasons to explain why it was attacked.

"Wolves are very interesting animals so there could be a number of reasons as to why they did go after it," Mueller said.

She said wolf-on-wolf attacks are not uncommon but it is rare for the victim of such an attack to be found.

"It probably happens a lot more often than we know.

These wolves have large territories and the chance of actually stumbling across an animal that's gone through this are definitely rare," she said.

Mueller said the wolf looked to be young, possibly between 1-2 years old, and its body was "quite fresh" meaning the death was recent.

Anyone who comes across a dead animal should leave the area immediately after marking the location to report to the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.

Do not disrupt a dead animal's surroundings as this could hinder a conservation officer's investigation into its cause of death.

Mueller said evidence of wolf-on-wolf aggression does not suggest any increased danger to humans.

"Wolves are known to show aggression towards each other...An alpha wolf typically does kill 1-3 wolves in his or her lifetime," she said. "They have that hierarchy to keep and there's some members of the pack that just won't meet up to their standards."

reporter@westerlynews.ca



Andrew Bailey

About the Author: Andrew Bailey

I arrived at the Westerly News as a reporter and photographer in January 2012.
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