An “extremely bold” wolf was euthanized Tuesday after sneaking food from a campground in the Banff area.
Parks Canada said the wolf wasn’t fazed by campers who tried to scare it away as it pilfered food from a cooler at the Tunnel Mountain campground. The campers even yelled and threw rocks at the animal, eventually trying to scare it away by honking their vehicle’s horn.
READ MORE: Wolf warning issued for Banff National Park
Parks Canada said this wolf was involved in “a number of incidents involving people and food.”
“Animals using the Bow Valley in Banff National Park—they’re occupying habitats that have high levels of human use,” said Bill Hunt, the resource conservation manager for Banff National Park.
He said once a wolf becomes food-conditioned it is very unlikely the behaviour can be turned around.
Hunt added there have been a number of incidents where such behaviour has gotten worse and the wolves became more brave.
“Unfortunately the option we had to choose was to euthanize the female that was teaching her offspring these bad habits,” Hunt said.
Parks Canada said the wolf was killed after officials consulted with wildlife management experts, scientific literature and considered other options.
Officials are reminding people to report wolf sightings to Banff Dispatch at 403-762-1470, keep food and garbage secure, and never feed wildlife.
READ MORE: Feeding wildlife in national parks can earn you a $1,000 fine
With files from Global’s Ken MacGillivray
Comments