Glances at Wolves

The  baying of the wolves sounded nearer and nearer, as though they were closing round on us from every side. I grew dreadfully afraid, and the horses shared my fear… I saw around us a ring of wolves, with white teeth and lolling red tongues, with long sinewy limbs and shaggy hair. There were a hundred times more terrible in the grim silence which held them than even when they howled. For myself, I felt a sort of paralysis of fear. It is only when a man feels himself face to face with such horrors that he can understand their true import.

from Dracula by Bram Stoker

Interestingly, I was immersed in reading Dracula as we began our Island holiday earlier this summer. On the ferry I spotted a bright poster explaining how to continue living peacefully with the wolves on Cortes Island. I’d never noticed any info in past years on wolves. Cougars, yes, but wolves, no. Of course, I, being the info junkie I am, scanned the list of recommendations. Apparently, unleashed dogs are highly attracted by wolves. They see them as threats to their territory as well as potential food. Carrying bear spray and a whistle is recommended when hiking the trails. My husband tells me that it’s very rare for a wolf to attack humans. One can never be too careful, though (all mothers please say AMEN!).

One late morning, on a very dull, rainy day on Cortes, my mother in law, my sis in law, and I were heading out in the car, just turning away from the house to follow the long driveway that divided the dense forest, to the main road. Suddenly, directly to the right of us, not one but TWO black creatures came out of the brush onto our path, stopped to stare at us, and then slowly meandered on into the woods on the left side of us. My initial reaction was that they were  two identical big black dogs. But no, they were the real thing… black wolves! And they were traveling right where Handyman and I had been loading wood into the truck just the day before.

I had never seen black wolves before and was quite excited to see them in the wild.  They looked much like shaggy coated large dogs. I think Bram Stoker’s description was slightly embellished, but then again, these were two wolves walking in broad daylight, not surrounding me in the middle of the night!  I so wish I had had my camera with me.

Interestingly, black wolves have descended from wolves mating with domesticated dogs hundreds of years ago.

I was quite stoked to have seen these beautiful animals, but thankful it was not while walking the trails the evening before, when we had neither bear spray nor a whistle!!