Wolf Encounters Pt 2

Wolf Encounters Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. With a wolf population growing every year, more people are bound to have encounters in the years ahead. But, after a student researcher in Okanogan county found herself 30-feet up a tree to avoid a pack, what signs can we look for when out in the wild?

Washington Fish and Wildlife wolf specialist Ben Maletzke says it's important to understand the wolves' behavior ...

MALETZKE ... "And if a wolf barks at you, you know there may be something there. In this instance, in the Okanogan, it happened to be that this researcher walked passed a rendezvous sight which is where the pups of the year had moved from the den sight where they were born and where they were nursed to an area where the pack will leave them while they go on a hunting foray or on just a patrol in their territory."

Maltetzke says it's just easier to give them their space ...

MALETZKE ... "If you come across a wolf or a bear or a cougar or any wildlife, you know, give them some space and kind of let them go their way."

But, he says don't turn and run ...

MALETZKE ... "Keep eye contact, stand tall, then you kind of back out of the situation and leave them to their space. And, I think it's important to really understand that behavior and that communication from those animals telling you, you know, you're too close to something, that they don't want you there."

Maletzke expects wolf sightings will likely increase, but says attacks would be rare.

He says also carrying things like bear spray or an air horn to repel the wolves can be helpful if used appropriately.

Previous ReportWolf Encounters Pt 1
Next ReportFarm Financial Management Class Pt 1