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UPDATE: Wolf spotted near Ucluelet Elementary School

Students were kept inside during their lunch hour on Friday.
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Ucluelet locals are urged to keep their eyes open and attempt to scare any wolves they encounter as a Wolf Advisory has been issued in the community. (Cheryl Alexander - Photo)

Ucluelet Elementary School students were kept inside during their lunch hour on Friday after a wolf was spotted on the school’s property around 11:30 a.m.

The school is asking parents to pick their children up after school today and students are being urged against walking home alone.

The sighting occured after troubling reports caused the District of Ucluelet to issue a Wolf Advisory on Thursday based on a recomendation from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.

“There’s a particular wolf that’s been exhibiting behaviour that’s just not very comfortable for us as a community,” Ucluelet mayor Dianne St. Jacques told the Westerly News.

She said locals must do everything they can to prevent predators, like wolves, from becoming comfortable around humans and vehicles.

“We need to scare the wolf away,” she said. “We need to make them uncomfortable in our environment so that they keep moving and don’t make this their home.”

While the advisory is in effect, locals are urged to keep all pets leashed and all small children within sight. Anyone who spots a wolf is encouraged to wave their arms in the air, make loud noises and act threatening towards the animal in an effort to scare it away.

The advisory adds that no one should ever turn their back on a wolf and instead back away slowly if they encounter one.

All wolf sightings should immediately be reported to 1-877-952-7277.

The Westerly News has reached out to the BC Conservation Officer Service and will update this story as new information comes in.

A habituated wolf was killed in the nearby Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on May 28 after it had attacked at least one leashed dog in the area.



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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