A Wolf This Time!

A wolf! A real one!!!

Driving up to the Saskatoon Circle primitive skills gathering on Saturday morning I saw a wolf very near my property. It was along the left side of the road, going the same direction I was. As I neared it sped up, I slowed for a better look and then it crossed the road in front of me. I had a totally clear view of him. Definitely a wolf. A large, full, healthy looking wolf. It ran up the right bank of the road. I stopped to check out the tracks (having just spent two days taking tracking etc lessons) but found nothing clear enough to photograph. The bank soil showed his track but they had all caved in on themselves due to the light soil and the steep slope.

Yesterday one of the people from the class came by the property to see me with a friend of his who is involved with the local wolf reintroduction and studies. I took them to where I had seen the wolf and we had quite a discussion. Apparently the 'pack' that they have identified has a couple of wolves with GPS collars and that morning they were about 20 miles north of where I saw this one. They questioned me some as to my ability to identify a wolf. Totally reasonable questions and I believe that they are convinced that I did in fact see a wolf.

He was SO beautiful!!!

Consensus is it was a mature loan male, not part of the identified pack.

There continue to be fresh deer tracks on the property, almost every day. I have taken to brushing some areas where the clearing has been being done with a large evergreen branch making a 'track trap'. The soil is soft enough that it gets lots of markings easily. No cougar track yet but bear, deer, turkey, squirrel, coyote, and something small that may be a marmot or the like plus scads of birds.

These little tracks in the photo are about an inch across and are all over the place.

I am having so much fun it probably is illegal...