A bold wolf pack took down an elk on top of the Canadian Pacific Railway overpass at the east entrance to the Banff townsite last weekend, giving several onlookers a firsthand look at the wonder of nature.
The wolf pack began the chase from the west near the Banff Indian Grounds and ended up funneling the elk onto the train overpass, where the pack killed the ungulate in full view of people driving below.
Christopher Martin, a professional photographer from Bragg Creek, happened upon the hunt Sunday morning (Feb. 21). The incident left him in awe of the wolves and their tenacity, intelligence and cooperation in killing the elk.
He said he watched four wolves trap the cow elk on the train overpass near the Lake Minnewanka interchange and wear it down with continuous lunges and bites over a 20-minute period.
“I first saw the elk and you could tell it was gimpy and crippled … and then I watched a wolf jump up and bite its neck and for the next 20 minutes they harassed the elk and wore it down,” said Martin.
“It really struck me how smart the wolves are, to hem it in on the bridge and take away a bunch of escape options. One wolf would distract from the front and others would bite from the back, crippling the elk’s legs,” added Martin.
“It was really impressive. The elk seemed more like a zombie, its spirit had checked out and it was in shock. These wolves seem to be real elk specialists.”
Wildlife experts with Banff National Park say this wolf pack has been seen many times by residents and visitors over the past year around the Banff townsite, where there is an abundance of elk and deer for the wolves to prey on.
“This would have been quite something to see… the wolves actually killed the elk up there in the middle of the overpass,” said Steve Michel, Parks Canada’s human-wildlife conflict specialist for Banff National Park.
“It’s not an unusual situation from the standpoint of wolves predating upon elk – because that’s a regular occurrence in the park – but the location and the fact it was visible to people was unusual.”
Resource conservation officers called on Canadian Pacific Railway to slow down trains on the tracks so they could deal with the situation.
Wildlife experts removed the elk carcass over concerns for public safety and fears a train would hit the wolves when they were feeding on the kill.
Michel said the carcass was taken to the wildlife lab at the warden office where it’s being stored in a freezer.
“When we have a situation like this, with predators successfully making a kill, it’s always our first priority to leave the carcass on the landscape in the exact location; our second priority is to relocate the carcass a short distance away,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we did have to remove the carcass. In this case, it was not a viable option for public safety or for the animals’ welfare.”
This wolf pack has five members and has taken up residence in the Bow Valley, including around the Banff townsite. Two of the animals are fitted with GPS collars, and the data shows they travel in areas primarily west of Banff as far as Castle Junction, using habitat in the Bow Valley and some of the side valleys.
Over the past year, successful kills near the Banff townsite have led to the closure of several areas in order to keep the public safe and to allow the wolves to feed undisturbed. The wolves also hunted a deer in a residential neighbourhood of Banff last year.
Last month, the pack was seen feeding on human garbage, including fast food wrappers and juice containers that littered the Johnston Canyon parking lot.
The garbage is believed to have come from a construction waste bin used during a rehabilitation project at the canyon. No charges have been laid and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Normally, wolves are secretive, shy away from developed areas and run away when they encounter people, but Michel said this pack is very comfortable in areas of high human use.
“I think it’s fair to say I do have some concerns based on their level of habituation and willingness to come into townsite areas occasionally,” said Michel.
“The concern there is, the more often they are in areas like that, the more potential they have to come into contact with some kind of attractant.”
Michel said aggressive wolf incidents are extremely rare, but they are more likely to happen after wolves have had a taste of human food.
“If they were able to access garbage that’s not secure, or someone tosses food out to them, or something would start the food conditioning process, it would become quite concerning if that became a pattern,” he said.
“We’re keeping a close eye on them, and at this point they haven’t shown any indication of being food conditioned or behaving aggressively toward humans. There’s just a high level of comfort in these areas heavily occupied by humans.”
Any wolf sightings should be reported to Banff dispatch at 403-762-1470.
To prevent conflicts, Parks Canada advises the following: • You can prevent carnivores from becoming conditioned to human food. Store your food, garbage, and dog food securely so that carnivores such as wolves, cougars, or coyotes cannot gain access to it. • Never approach, entice, or feed wildlife. • Keep your dog on a leash. Don’t leave dogs unattended outside. Dogs can attract carnivores and may be attacked. • Carefully supervise small children when they are playing outdoors. • Pay attention to your surroundings year-round. If you are approached by a wolf, coyote or cougar: • If you are approached by a carnivore, the best thing to do is act aggressively (stomp your feet, yell, throw something, use pepper spray). The animal may be testing to see if you are possible prey, so make it clear that you and your dog are not. • Pick up small children immediately. Stand your ground, but never jump towards the animal.
•Do not run. • By acting aggressively, you reduce the risk to yourself and other people, and help prevent the animal from becoming habituated to human presence.
