A Wolf Encounter
They are shy and not particularly comfortable with human contact. So, to be able to observe and photograph these apex predators is a special treat. The opportunity was there on a recent trip to the remote wilderness of British Columbia, Canada. Brad, who knows this area from many years of running expeditions, had encountered a wolf pack 3 weeks earlier and he decided to try out the same shoreline again. (see Brad’s website here for some impressive wildlife photos: www.naturalart.ca). Not unexpectedly, he was at pains to point out that the chance of spotting wolves again was pretty low. That is part of the equation in wildlife photography. There is never a guarantee that you will come across wild animals, particularly those which roam vast distances in often dense terrain.
The Pacific Coastal Sea Wolf is a wolf subspecies found in the Great Bear Rainforest of Canada. They have a diet which is highly marine based, such as salmon, seal, otter and even shellfish, although they also eat other prey such as deer. They are highly intelligent creatures. Interestingly, they only eat the salmon head to avoid parasites found in other parts of the salmon. These coastal wolves are strong and fast swimmers and can cover large distances moving from island to island in this large coastal wilderness.
To see if we could spot the sea wolf, we jumped into the zodiac. The light was getting low, and the afternoon wore on as we drifted along the shore in a small inflatable whilst quietly scanning the horizon for any sign of these beautiful animals. Luck was on our side as two wolf cubs suddenly appeared from the forest out onto the beach about 30 yards from our boat. They noticed us and kept a wary but curious eye on us, but decided we were not an immediate threat.
We had around 20 minutes of opportunity to observe the young wolves as they played around on the beach and among the rock formations. And as suddenly as they had appeared they disappeared into the dense forest again. It was an exhilarating few minutes, which more than made up for the uncomfortable shooting position hunkered down low in a small inflatable craft.
We decided to scan the same shoreline the following morning. We set out in the zodiac before dawn, and as the light improved we closed in on the same stretch of the shore. After 90-odd minutes with nothing much moving around apart from a few surf scoters, we spotted a wolf among the trees. This one was alone and much older – a young adult.
It looked at us and started to scan the shoreline at a fast pace for food such as dead salmon. It kept a rapid pace in and out of trees and rocks. The light was improving and the moving wolf made for some great shooting opportunities. Again, after 20-odd minutes the wolf disappeared into the forest not to be seen again. A magical few minutes in such a beautiful wilderness with such a majestic animal.
More images of wolves and from the Great Bear Rainforest can be found here.