Update 3: Haliburton Wolf and Wild Life Reserve Wolves

#3 Final update from the centre: there is no sign of the released wolves. Staff worked hard, made mistakes, but learned a lot about trying to recapture these poor animals. They were rescued and some idiot released them, two were killed.

#2 Another update: Granite crossed the rainbow bridge last night. She did not survive her surgery, and staff and friends mourn her passing. Staff believe that the murder of Granite is a separate incident from the vandalism incident that had people destroy their fencing enclosure. Originally, they thought that Haida, the alpha male, was mortally shot and murdered, once the four wolves escaped. This may not be the case, since his pup has the same coat.
More information is available on their website, but the photos of her wounds are not for the squeamish:
The two outside wolves are still hanging around close to the outside of the Wolf Centre, communicating with their fellow pack members inside by mournful howls in the early mornings. We are leaving food out, which entices them to hang around. 

#1 Update: As previously reported, the wolves escaped on New Year's Eve, when the centre was open to visitors. Vandals, or stupid animal rights activists, or hunters looking for wolf pelts, opened the fencing.

Wounded wolf:
visit their Facebook page

They now report that Granite, the alpha female, was shot twice and fought hard for her life, despite massive loss of blood. She dragged her bleeding body to the side of the road. The two bullets went through her leg. She has been recaptured and after hours of surgery, show signs of responsiveness.

These are wild pack animals, unable to be released in the wild, ignorant of hunting techniques, performing an important educational role in this world. They are well cared for, and live in a large setting.

Haliburton: moose and wolf country

I oppose zoos. I think, what with the
wonderful videography and photography opportunities on the Internet, it might well be time to get rid of the old style zoos. These rescue shelters are another story. I watch my rescued ditch-dwelling goldfish in my fish tank, brought indoors in winter to a 60 gallon aquarium, who spend three seasons in a 500 gallon outdoor pond.

Peter writes:

Wolves, we kill them and stuff them

Two hours of cleaning wounds, stitching, injecting …and things looked up for Granite. Her heart beat strengthened and her breathing steadied. She received 2 litres of subcutaneous fluids, antibiotics, trace elements, pain-killers and all the attention that could be afforded her. We waited another hour when her reflexes reappeared, indicating that the tranquiliser was slowly wearing off. The muzzle was removed and a bed of wood shavings prepared in a sheltered corner of the enclosure, where she was bedded in a blanket.

I don't often feature other people's videos. This one is amazing. It is a tribute to the wolves and the Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve. Haida (1:30' in) and both Haida and Granite (at 3:52' in), have had a terrible time. For updates, visit their Facebook page.

 
Wolves from Ben Lean on Vimeo.
Shot February, 2012. Locations include Haliburton and the Kawarthas, Ontario.
Journey through the wilderness of Halibuton Highlands and the Kawarthas, territory of the wolf.

View from the Dorset lookout: Fall, 2012
Beautiful wilderness country in central Ontario

Music by Andrew Scott Foust-"A Whisper In The Echo"
Licensed through the Vimeo Music Store

Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve

Ontario's hidden outdoor recreation, education and entertainment gem. Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve Ltd., or simply Haliburton Forest, is a unique, privately owned forest located on 70,000 acres of rolling hardwood forests, beautiful lakes, meandering rivers and extensive wetlands in the...

Wolves escape Haliburton wildlife reserve through vandalism

What a horrible thing to do. You'd like to think that it is ignorance, rather than something stupid like pure vandalism, but I wonder. Stupidity is the active pursuit of ignorance. What are people thinking? There are reasons why the wolves are there, they cannot exist in the wild.

The Wolf Reserve owner writes about this Criminal Wolf Pack release. Criminal, indeed. It is a well-orchestrated event, with vandals opening both the inside and the outside enclosures, cutting holes for the wolves to escape in a place where staff couldn't observe the actions.

Two Arctic Wolves – sisters – needed to be to be
taken in by Aspen Valley from another centre
facing bankruptcy
- or they would be euthanized. 

The reserve’s owner, Peter Schleifenbaum, believes the vandals are animal rights activists or “individuals with a similar zeal to ‘liberate’ captive animals.”

It could well be true. But such stupidity. I visited Aspen Valley Wildlife Reserve last year. I learned a lot. All of the animals were born in captivity, and needed to live in captivity. Some were abused, others couldn't be cared for or released into the wild.

Zoe Coyote at Aspen Valley

These wolves at the Haliburton Reserve (see their photos), for example, are fed dead carcasses. It takes skill to track, hunt, and take down a 150 lb. deer. They don't have these skills. We have a neighbourhood wolf that dragged off roadkill into the forest. I imagine if it were easier to take down a deer, it wouldn't have chosen a three-day-old carcass.

A hunter, who had been using Mama bear
 to train dogs how to attack bears,
had her front claws and eyeteeth removed
so she was unable to defend herself.

These things almost always end badly. One of Haliburton Forest's staff noticed a bloody dragmark down the hill, about 200 meters north of the Wolf Centre. They found a cartridge and hair, and they believe that sometime that day Haida, the alpha male of the pack, was shot, killed, and taken away by a motorist. How shameful. Schliefenbaum, and his staff, is trying desperately to get the animals back into the enclosure. It's not easy.
The history of this wolf pack is interesting. Almost always there is a story. No one want to keep these wild animals if they have any understanding or concern for them. They are wild animals. Aspen Valley's critters all have horribly sad stories, and they reintroduce them to the wild, when possible. These licenced facilities exist on donations. They don't do this for fun, but out of a love of animals.

Another sanctuary: Bear With Us Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Centre for Bears

See www.bearwithus.org

Awareness and Understanding can save the life of a bear. This page is for educational use. Allowing people the opportunity to "Understand Bears." https://www.facebook.com/Understanding.Bears .

Eurasian Lynx, Banshee, used in a movie,
no longer needed, her new owner couldn't care for her,
they were going to put her down.
Aspen Valley took her in.

This isn't the only time people have done this. I wrote in November, 2008, about Fallow Deer Reserve, near Kingston. They had someone vandalize their fence and shoo their 13 rescued deer outside of the pen. A damn shame during hunting season, especially. Their stories are told here:

• In memory of Ty
• Dandy, born 2000 - died November 23, 2008
• EGee eases back!
• Moki's love story
• Ty, born 2002? - died Nov. 10, 2008
• Gulliver is back home!
• George returns home! This one's for Tasha & Kelly

SAINTS is an end-of-life B.C. sanctuary for senior and special needs animals that have nowhere else to go.

SAINTS 2012 720

www.youtube.com

www.saintsrescue.ca MISSION STATEMENT We are an end-of-life sanctuary for senior and special needs animals that have nowhere else 

Wildlife in Muskoka: wolves

I have posted photos of wolf tracks, and my friend, Nancy, with her 600 Acres has lots of evidence, too. But this video (below), from Friends of Algonquin Provincial Park, demonstrates actual wolf behaviour! The park is immediately east of the Parry Sound-Muskoka region, and our animals are quite similar.

The flora and fauna of the park are well-studied, with much support material, and information on-line.

I bought several books there, the store is fabulous, with many visual art, natural toys, and books, including this one: Mammals of Algonquin Park.
 I also bought Insects of Algonquin Park to satisfy my curiosity!


Algonquin Park consists of five major habitats:

Deciduous Forest | | Coniferous Forest |  Spruce Bogs |   Beaver Ponds |   Lakes and Rivers

-all common to Muskoka.


In summer I have heard wolves howling across the lake, in the wild forest. No so much in winter, when sledders are frequently on the trails night and day.

Their prey include deer, smaller moose and beaver.

White-tailed deer migrate out of Algonquin in winter, moving to winter yards outside of the park.
Port Carling, Milford Bay, and Port Sandfield, with low snow, good ground cover,  are good places to look for deer. I have posted several photos of the deer about on roads.

What is very sad is that originally,

'Today, the wolf is protected in and around the Park, but for the first 65 years of the Park's existence, Park Rangers actively tried to eliminate the wolf from Algonquin.'

The photos I have of wolves are not alive. For that I am grateful, as much as I would like to get a shot.
You can see these lovely furry fellows in the store, The Canadian Carver, in Lake Superior Park, from our June trip!

Eastern Wolves are small: 25 kg (F) and 30 kg (M), only about 60 to 68 cm (24 - 27 ') at the shoulder, and have been misidentified as coyotes. There are more Eastern Wolves, as  the Red Wolf was extirpated from the wild in SE United States.
 They are not large enough to bring down large moose.

Land-clearing and exploitation by people, following European colonization, resulted in lower Red (Eastern) populations in the southeastern United States and the larger population in central Ontario and southern Quebec.

A permanent ban on the harvesting of wolves (and the similar looking species, the Coyote) in 40 township surrounding Algonquin Park was put in place in May 2004. Eastern Wolves (and therefore Red Wolves) are very small in size compared to the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) living in the boreal forest north of Lake Superior in Ontario.

February is their month of love, cubs have to be ready to accompany adults on their hunts when they are too large for the dens. They gestate about 60 days. The number of pups depends upon available food, as with many critters. Cubs are plopped in an area with water and insects while the hunt goes on. The Park info says that they leave the family when they are up to 2 years old.

This site is terrific, and has  teacher activities, as well as

• Wolf Species Pictures

• Video of a wolf feeding on a deer.

•  Wolf Pack Howls

It is a perfect place to study the Science Behind Algonquin's Animals [www.sbaa.ca].

• The Ontario Government initiated the Park's first wolf research project in 1958, and the killing of wolves ceased. 
• Dr. John Theberge from the University of Waterloo (1987-1999) provided valuable insight into the seasonal movements of Algonquin's wolves through the use of radio telemetry.
• Dr. Brent Patterson of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources continues to track Algonquin's wolves with radio telemetry and GPS.

Feb. 18, 2010
"This video shows a pack of 7 wild Eastern Wolves in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Watch as the dominant wolf feeds upon the White-tailed Deer carcass and the other pack members interact. More dominant animals (holding their tails high when interacting) dominate subordinate pack members (holding their tails between their legs). At one point a more dominant animal "pins down" a subordinate wolf who "relaxes" until the other wolf departs. Common Ravens (the numerous birds) await their opportunity to scavenge for a meal throughout the duration of the video. This is a sight rarely recorded."