Family fun turns into a wolf scare for tobogganers

Dog suffers bruises after chasing away wolves that came too close

The families were on an outing 100 kilometres east of Fort Nelson Friday when two wolves started to chase a sleighful of three children, said 36-year-old Kyle Keays, who was among the group.

The children -- one aged four, and two others, both three -- were being towed along the base of a hill by an all-terrain vehicle when the wolves appeared. 

Keays said his wife first noticed the wolves and shouted at him to watch out. The ATV's driver, Rod Barrie, turned around and pulled the sled back toward his truck.

"I looked back and I just saw the wolves coming out of the ditch," said Keays, who works in the area as a gas plant operator.

The wolves were within six metres of the children when the youngsters were hustled into the truck. At that moment, Keays' Rottweiler-cross, Shadow, intercepted the lead wolf and got into a scuffle.

"When Shadow saw the wolves, he immediately broke free and bee-lined down the hill to attack the lead wolf," Keays said.

As Barrie swung a shovel at the wolves, they backed off, but didn't run, said Keays, who grabbed his rifle from his nearby camp.

"They definitely weren't afraid," he said. "They backed off 50 feet and started circling side to side."

Shortly after returning to Keays' camp, the families noticed one of the wolves nearby and Keays immediately shot it.

When Keays awoke Saturday morning, the carcass was gone. He said he tracked it about 300 metres away, where it was being eaten by the other wolf, which he also shot.

"They were starving," he said. "Both of these wolves I shot were quite skinny."

Despite the potential dangers, Keays said the children were unaware of what was happening and none was injured in the confrontation. Shadow was "bumped and bruised," he said, but otherwise unharmed.

The confrontation hasn't stopped Keays from going out tobogganing again.

"We were just out," he said. "The wolves are gone."

Ministry of Environment spokeswoman Kate Thompson said Sunday conservation officers had been told about the shootings and would investigate further today. Hunters are required to report wolf kills to conservation officials, she said.

ksinoski@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Sun 2007
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