EDITOR,
I just had a close encounter with the Squamish Valley wolves that Greg Gerhart saw last month ("Wolves spotted near Squamish," Chief, May 10).
I was out walking my dogs between the Squamish and Ashlu rivers. I've camped and fished there many times and I drive out there to let the dogs have a good run every now and again.
I was sitting in the truck, letting the dogs run around, when I saw a wolf trot down the old road in front of me. At first I thought it was a big dog and it was looking and listening off to the north, in the direction of my dogs. I instinctively called my dogs and got them into the truck. At this point the wolf was still on the road, about 150 yards away and my dogs were oblivious to his/her presence. As soon as they saw the wolf out the front window, they began growling aggressively but those growls turned into a whine when the wolf disappeared and we heard the howls in front of us, beside us and behind us.
I can't say that I shared Mr. Gerhart's appreciation for their music, nor his certainty that they bore me no ill will. If I had to guess based on the behaviour I saw I'd say they were stalking my dogs. They are beautiful animals but it would be foolish to lose track of the point that they kill to eat and they aren't berry-eating omnivores like bears. I've seen dozens of bears in my life and only felt endangered a couple of times. This was the second wolf I've ever seen and my instincts of self-preservation were definitely firing on all cylinders. The dogs were skittish long after we returned home.
Allan Beaulieu
Upper Squamish Valley
