Wolf threat prompts man to keep dogs inside

A Kaministiquia man says he's worried about wolves in rural areas around Thunder Bay after hearing what he thought was his neighbour's dog being killed by wolves.

"There was a cry of some wolves out someplace in the bush," Mike Thiffault said.

"After I heard that cry, I heard a dog barking. A couple of minutes after that, I heard the cry of the dog yelping — and the cry of the wolves obviously having caught something."

'It doesn't surprise me that people are seeing wolves out in the Kam area, or even closer to town ...' —Ross Johnston, Ministry of Natural Resources

Thiffault said it's not the first incident of this nature and believes the wolf population in the area is growing.

"Are they getting worse? Yes," he said. "Year after year now, they seem to be getting more aggressive as well."

Thiffault said his biggest worry is for small children who might encounter the animals.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Natural Resources said the number of reports of wolves in the area has remained steady.

Ross Johnston said the MNR typically receives four to six calls per year about wolves and that number has consistently remained at that level over the past few years.

"[But] it doesn't surprise me that people are seeing wolves out in the Kam area, or even closer to town, just given the bush that we have all around Thunder Bay, and the deer population that we have," he said, noting that wolves are generally wary of people.

Tiffault admitted he hasn't seen the wolves in his neighbourhood, but he said he has spotted them in other areas. It’s enough for him to keep his four house dogs indoors — and when they do go outside, he said he makes sure to go with them.