Walkers not worried by wolf sighting

Despite a reported wolf sighting by Boulevard Lake earlier this week, William Groves isn’t worried about taking his dogs Cody and Seka to the park.

The Thunder Bay man walks his dogs in the park about four or five times a week and said it’s not surprising a wolf was spotted in the area.

"You have to realize where we live," he said. "We share this real estate with all the wildlife, including wolves, so it stands to reason they’re going to show up sooner or later. Just be aware of it and keep your dogs on a leash."

Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer Ross Johnston said there have been two wolf sightings reported in the last month – the one at Boulevard Lake and one a few weeks ago at Nor’wester View School.

He said it’s not surprising considering the city is surrounded by bush and also noted the white-tailed deer population has been growing over the past decade.

"When the prey is doing well, the predator is doing well," he said. "The wolf population has been on the rise for the last 10 years. It really shouldn’t come as a shock we have wildlife right in the city and on the outskirts and every once in a while have wildlife wander into town."

Johnston said the wolf gets a bad rap and isn’t looking to attack people; it’s just attracted to their prey and with people feeding deer, there are a lot of deer in the city.

If you do encounter a wolf or any other wild animal, Johnston said don’t approach it and give it room to exit.

"If it continues to move towards you, that’s when you want to make yourself look as big as possible and you can yell and scream and pick things up to throw at it," he said. "Typically they don’t want to have an encounter with you and wolves especially are very wary and shy. If you give them a way out, they’ll take it."

Johnston said people shouldn’t be worried about the safety of their dogs and themselves in the Boulevard area.

"I would not change what I do," he said. "I would continue to use Boulevard Lake to run and walk and cycle."

If anyone spots a wolf, Johnston said to call the police and they will contact the MNR.