Wolves are always moving in and out of our lives in Muskoka.
A lecture on Co-existing With Wolves in Lake of Bays will take place at the Dwight Library tomorrow at 1:00pm.
Robert Gibson and Michael Peppard will discuss how wolves move in our world. How to avoid conflict, keeping pets safe and general signs of wolf populations being in an area will also be featured.
Peppard is an area councillor in the Township of Lake of Bays. Gibson is a Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry representative.
Peppard says the talk was initiated because of incidents involving wolves and coyotes with area pets and residents.
“We have our timber wolf of which our Algonquin wolf is one,” he explains. “But the Algonquin wolf has some coyote in it.”
It is a bit personal for Peppard who recently lost a cat to a wolf.
“I don’t blame the wolf,” he says. “It was just trying to survive.”
Peppard says, “this talk is about awareness building, dropping the fear some people have and a little bit more information on how people can be a little more careful.”
Generally speaking, Peppard says, coyotes are more likely to come to built-up areas seeking scavenging opportunities. And like the famous cartoon coyote, they are pretty clever.
“They are wily,” Peppard says. “They like to stop and stare at what we are doing.”
Wolves are much less likely to interact with humans but are also interested in feeding opportunities such as pets.
Some of the small things you can do to protect pets include keeping cats in during the winter, supervising small pets and varying when you let your pets out. Predators are quick learners when it comes to spotting patterns.
For humans, if you are on a hike carrying a walking stick provides you with a weapon and a visual cue to the wolf or coyote that they should keep walking.
If you would like to attend the discussion register with the library at 705-635-3319 or by email at [email protected] .