Concerned residents have been reaching out to Lake of Bays municipal staff regarding sightings of either wolves or coyotes in the Finlayson ward area, prompting the municipality to issue a media release.
The Township is reminding residents that the Algonquin-area wolf, also known as the Eastern Wolf, inhabits regions including Finlayson, Franklin, and Sinclair wards. This species is protected under the Endangered Species Act, 2007. As it is difficult to distinguish between the Eastern Wolf from other species, Ontario has prohibited hunting and trapping of both wolves and coyotes in the core Eastern Wolf occurrence areas.
It is crucial for residents to take steps to prevent unwanted interactions with wildlife. The Government of Ontario recommends the following precautions to minimize conflicts with wildlife:
- Keep dogs inside at night.
- Clean up after your dog — coyotes are attracted to dog feces.
- Spay and neuter your dogs – coyotes are attracted to, and can mate with, domestic dogs that have not been spayed or neutered.
- Keep pet food indoors.
- Do not let your dogs roam from your property.
- Fence your property with a two-meter-high fence that extends at least 20 centimetres underground.
- Always keep yourself, your family, and your pets a safe distance away from wildlife.
- Do not feed wildlife or touch wildlife droppings.
- Leave orphaned wild animals alone.
- Do not approach or touch a sick or dead animal.
If you spot a coyote in the Township of Lake of Bays, you are encouraged to report the sighting on www.coyotewatchcanada.com.
For further resources, the Government of Ontario’s website provides comprehensive advice on living with wildlife and protecting your property as well as avoiding conflicts with wolves, coyotes, and foxes.
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Joan Read says
Protected or not if the thing comes up on my deck again I will do everything I can to destroy it.
Barbara Waite says
It’s unfortunate that some people feel that one of their neighbours, who has the same rights to live in their home as humans do, must be destroyed.
There is much information available about co-existing with wildlife. Please read it and put it into action.
As I often see wolves quite close to my house, and even cougar, I’ve learned that a loud voice and movement always sends them away.
The other option for those people who don’t understand the responsibility of respectfully living with wildlife, is to find another place to live.
Nancy Long says
Maybe a more urbanized environment is necessary for people. The wolf will move on.
Allen Markle says
Coyotes and coy-dog cross may be of questionable temperament, but I was never fearful of wolves. They have always been in the area, choosing to be here, but out of sight. We have had a wolf dig mice out of a stump pile, no more that 20 yards from our living room window. He chose to remain out of sight ’til he moved on, showing no fear or angst toward our seeing him.
We had wolves in the area when my Dad and Don Boothby logged the Needler property on Lake of Bays, opposite Point Ideal. We would see the tracks in the morning, and sometimes they would cause the horses some agitation. But they caused no harm. Often, people would see them out on the frozen lake. We have a local musician who has song about wolves and a frozen lake. Give it a listen.
My first wolf encounter, I was 12, and alone in our hunting camp on the Big East River, about a mile from the park line. I had remained in the camp when everyone else had gone to Huntsville for the night. It had been my choice to stay, not risking my Mother deciding I should remain home and go to school.
I’d finished my homework, cleaned up, and turned the gas lanterns off. It was snowing a bit, the moon showing and not showing through the gusts. Stretched out on the bunk, a little bit of trepidation crept in, until a long, heartfelt howl brought me alert. Wolf! I knew what a wolf sounded like, had heard them with my parents and grandparents, but now I was on my own.
I went out and stood on the step, listening, ’til it was done, and the cold had crept through my jeans. It was a beautiful sound, drifting down the river with the gusting wind.
Aldo Leopold wrote that a mountain was just a mountain without a bear. I think a lake without the call of a loon is certainly not wilderness, and the night without the occasional howl of a wolf is just darkness. I have written a book for my children and grandchildren, and my first solo encounter with the wolf is one of the stories.
These things were common-place, here, when I was young. I was taught to respect the wild things; to be cautious and aware, but certainly not to fear them. Some people cause me to be fearful. More so than any wolf.