Encounters with wild animals while tracking

Moose sign on the highway just west of Thunder Bay

We are expecting a big winter storm today with howling Alberta winds. So I am just enjoying some coffee and working on my writing. As usual, I find a distraction, and this morning, wrote a long response to a tracking chat list about wild animals encountered when tracking. In the winter, it is not such an issue. However I thought as I took the time to write it, I would share it here...

Bull moose pic I took while driving around Thunder Bay last spring.

I grew up in Northwestern Ontario and had sheep on a small farm as well. I used to track in fields where bears, moose and deer were issues, though never in 20 years of tracking had a bear encounter. I never, ever had an issue with coyotes as I found them very elusive. Or wolves.

However, as we habituate them to people, they do get more bold. There are more and more instances where they are either growing less afraid so seen more - and then surprised and react with aggression; or they are associating people and dogs with food. I've seen animals even get used to our tracking fields and associate us coming with food (mostly that would be foxes and birds, but why not bigger animals too). In the north, most animals are more elusive and the wild areas really are wild, but this is changing I fear as we push 'true north' further away with development and activity.

This is me with my boy Thorn in my old training field in Thunder Bay, surrounded by bush, bears, wolves, deer and moose. But in 20 years never had a bad experience, thankfully.

Coyotes here in Alberta are a real threat, much more than I experienced at home. This is because they are used to farms and livestock and make it part of their 'food' routine to find easy meals. They will stand 10 feet from you and eye your dog. And they are always skulking about farms and rural homes. It's changed my mind about them a little. I had a standoff with one that was really interesting. They are smart, smart, smart. My friend Dan who was out with his SchH dogs had a bad experience with coyotes last summer too not leaving and being very bold. A loose dog that will chase one off might find itself surrounded by the group when it gets too far from you, which of course is bad news.


Even though I had no bad experiences I always used to practice safety though, and common sense, when in Northewestern Ontario fields surrounded by really and truly WILD and remote forests. I think as I worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) I was lucky to have good advice from biologists and game wardens (we call them Conservation Officers). Some were in my tracking classes too. I also had the benefit of an outdoorsy upbringing.

Another shot of me with Thorn. I love seeing these because I miss that dog. And I can see the weight I have lost!

So here is what I did if I was tracking alone or there before others...and I used to teach this to my students for safety sake...

-Arrived at the field and honked my horn a few times.

-Always had a whistle around my neck. A sharp blast can let an animal know you are there and not prey (not a deer, haha), and can alert a friend you saw something

-Always let someone know where I was going and these days, you can carry a cell too. We used to carry two-way radios at times back in the day.

-Sometimes I sang or counted steps really loud when laying my track, to alert anything to my presence

-At times, I took a dog with me on a tight lead and we laid the track in tandem. That was on early mornings when the bears might be following their routes to the landfill site which was near my fields.

-Always kept my eyes open around me in a 360.

-If I felt creeped out I paid attention to my gut and just cut my track short and took my walk out.

-However, the last thing you want to see is a bear following you. It could be in stalk or prey mode. If they know you are there, a normal bear should just leave.

-Bear bangers are great - make the sound of a gunshot but you have to know how to use them and do not have your dog loose as it could run off (field hunters excepted, of course!)

-If threatened, the best things to do are to keep your head on your shoulders - stay calm, don't ever turn your back. Drop your bait for sure, and anything else that might give the animal something to sniff over while you make your exit. Hold something up over your head to look bigger, even just your arms. Back away to create distance. Growl and sound threatening if you must but guage this - you are all dog people - if you think yelling will cause conflict don't, but if you think saying HEY! will cause it to bolt away, do so. Never run as you will elicit prey behaviour. It's all the same as dealing with an aggressive dog, right?

Cow on the side of the road. I try to tell people how moose are everywhere around the roads in Northwestern Ontario. Here in Alberta I used to hit my brakes when I saw cows *(as in cattle) until I got used to it.

I never take wild animals for granted. When I track in more remote areas, I know this is their home and I am the intruder. And many northern Ontario fields, even though they are used for farming, are surrounded by dense bush.


My forester, biologist and Conservation Officer friends told me that DOGS attract and bring wild animals closer to people, especially loose dogs. Dogs can antagonize an animal that might usually depart if you are behaving properly. One forester friend was out one time and his dog was roaring around in the woods. It suddenly was running straight at him, with a bear behind it. Control your dogs when you are out and you and your dog will be safer for it.

Here are Jet and Ted running around my old tracking field - taken spring 2010 when I visited home. I really miss this field.

If you felt there was a threat from a wild animal you could call your Natural Resources office and see if there have been any issues or complaints of animals in the area where you track. The Conservation Officers are usually on top of this, and they may also appreciate hearing from you. But then, beware of what is done - traps perhaps with local contractors - to deal with the situation and how this may impact your dog activities.


When I worked as a communications person for MNR I used to try to educate the public about being out in these areas too. Sometimes animals are behaving normally but end up being trapped or killed because of human interference which is very sad. It is only the truly predatory ones - towards people and dogs - that have become dangerous and habituated, and need to be removed by live trapping or other means.


So, some stories... *can't resist ...


Bait smells good to bears, by the way. I once went back to run a track and every article and my bait was gone, and there was bear poop along the track. Bears can apparently run a good track with all corners!

Another time, I was laying a track and came on a fresh wolf killed deer. That was a big red flag to get out of there. I did that, and all was well, and abandoned the track. Most self respecting wolves will never let you see them. Seeing a wolf is a treasure.


Still another time, my friend Ross and I were accosted by a bull moose during the rut and we had to yell and wave our arms to have him run away realizing we were not in fact a cow moose. Ross had a baby in a carrier on his shoulders and I think when we were walking together we made a cow moose silhouette! That bull sauntered up to us, waving his antlers and strutting. When he realized we were people he was gone in seconds like a ghost. It was wonderful. Once while doing urban at a college, I was also followed by a big buck deer. I kept trying to chase him off but he had lost his mind, it was the rut. Not fun.


Now in Alberta, we have cougars. And they are really not good news. I am just learning about the protocols for being out alone with dogs when they are lurking in trees. But have not heard many stories about them either so perhaps it is just that I don't know enough about them that I am a little scared.



And bunnies. Killer bunnies on the university and college campuses are really causing havoc with my tracking!