The NWT Department of Environment and Climate Change is asking people to take precautions when handling their dogs after three wolves were spotted in and around Fort McPherson, NWT.
A lone wolf that had been seen hanging around the community since early October was shot and killed this week by a community member, said Lila Woodrach, wildlife and environmental manager for the Beaufort Delta region.
She said the wolf was seen hanging out with a group of stray dogs and eating from dog bowls in the community.
Diana Coe, president of the Tetlit Gwich'in Council and a Fort McPherson resident, said the wolf does not appear to be afraid of dogs or people in the community.
“It was very comfortable to walk down the main road and sit on people’s steps and interact with other dogs,” she said. “It became alarming.”
After the wolf was shot, two more appeared and still roam the community, Coe said.
Woodrach said the wolves have not attacked anyone and currently pose little threat to humans, but dogs are at greater risk and could eventually transmit the disease to people.
She said that wolves have killed dogs in the past.
To keep more wolves from coming into the community, Woodrach asks owners to leash their dogs and not let them roam free.
Woodrach also emphasized that vaccinating dogs against rabies is the best way for people to avoid getting the disease.
“Wolves are wildlife, so they can be potential carriers of diseases that can be transmitted to people and their pets,” Woodrach said. “That’s why vaccinating dogs against rabies is very important.”
Coe said residents are taking precautions. Residents were asked not to feed the wolves or leave food, including bird food, outside.
A local renewable resources specialist set traps to catch the two remaining wolves.
