Outdoor Ontario

Wildlife Reports => Southern Ontario Wildlife => Topic started by: Bill & Jaye on May 07, 2010, 05:19:43 PM

Title: Wolf killed by car
Post by: Bill & Jaye on May 07, 2010, 05:19:43 PM

A wolf was hit and killed just about 100 yards down the road from my house (Norfolk County) last night.  What a shock for me... and the wolf!  There were car parts ( bumper and front grill ) scattered for about 30 yards.  Mostly front grill/bumper parts.  No sign of the car but it must have been a mess.  To my surprise, when I called the MNR to report it and ask to have it removed, they seemd to have no interest and told me to call the Roads Dept.

Sorry, I dont know how to include a picture here, but I took a few.

Bill

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Post by: Bird Brain on May 07, 2010, 05:54:01 PM

Truly sad.

I wish the wolf a safe journey!  

In regard to the driver .....  :evil:

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Post by: Anonymous on May 07, 2010, 06:39:05 PM

Wolf eh?

Would like to see those pictures - feel free to email them to me at papp_attila@hotmail.com.

Jo-anne - probably happened at night, I wouldn't lay too much blame on the driver.

Attila

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Post by: Bird Brain on May 07, 2010, 07:32:29 PM

:x How does someone not know they've just hit a wolf and there's damage to their car?  

Perhaps the driver was driving drunk, without a license or suspended license, no insurance, fell asleep behind the wheel, borrowed mommy or daddy's car, etc.?  

I don't understand a person that hits any animal (or a person) with their car and then just keeps driving.

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Post by: Anonymous on May 07, 2010, 08:57:48 PM

Who's to say that they didn't know there was damage?

Also, who's to say they didn't think it was a coyote?

And most importantly, how do we know they didn't stop?

I've hit everything from racoons to skunks to rabbits and if you think I'm going to stop to check out what damage might have been while there are other cars behind me or if it's the middle of the night then guess again - it can wait until morning.

Unless of course the collision was with a deer/moose/bear...then I'd be stopping and making a phone call.

You can't always think the worst case scenario.

Attila

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Post by: Axeman on May 08, 2010, 12:17:56 PM

Morbid but...I would love to see pix too...where is Norfolk county ?

As for the person stopping...they probably did given the amount of damage described...but often people hit raccoons, skunks etc. and don't realize that the animal isn't dead...I have stopped for one of those...a raccoon...it looked dead but wasn't...thankfully I was able to get the poor thing to a vet to be euthanized...that said, I wouldn't always recommend it...at a certain point, although mortally wounded, the animal recovered enough to express its feelings...it was in a lot of pain and was snarling...it took the vets expertise to handle it...

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Post by: Turtlebird on May 09, 2010, 03:24:52 PM

There are no wolves in Norfolk county, but many coyotes.  I have seen several DOR coyotes on my way to Long Point.  It's always sad because they're so dog-like.  On a recent drive down to southern Illinois I saw many coyotes that had been hit...they aren't as vigillant on roadkill pick-up down south as they are here...

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Post by: Axeman on May 09, 2010, 05:44:47 PM

Well I looked up Norfolk county and I have to agree with Turtlebird that its unlikely to have been a wolf BUT...a don't see a coyote causing that much damage to a vehicle...soooo....now I'd really love to see a pic....

My email addy is           a.leighl@yahoo.com

I hope I'm not deluged with emails from people promising me a lot of money if I help them smuggle a fortune out of some country they're being held captive in...apparently I'm known all over the world for my good nature and willingness to help my fellow man.

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Post by: Bill & Jaye on May 10, 2010, 08:14:41 AM

Hi all
The original poster of this topic here.
I have talked to some people since posting this and some have seen the pictures I have and some say coyote.  Some say too big for a coyote.  Not knowing for sure, it could be a coyote but I just expect coyotes to be smaller then this.
I tried sending an email to 'pappa' but it took ~30 minutes to send (slow speed internet) and not even sure it went through.  So I dont want to send a picture to each interested individual who requests it.

If someone can help guide me through the process of including a picture on this website / page I will try again.

As for the person stopping, there were indications on the roadside that they did stop or pull over.

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Post by: Anonymous on May 10, 2010, 10:30:04 PM

Bill and Jaye,

Below is a picture of a coyote that resides here in Toronto for comparison.

What you probably have in your neck of the woods is commonly referred to as a coywolf - a cross between a coyote and a wolf, which are larger than your average city coyotes.

If you could attempt again to email the photo to me I would be happy to resize it for you and post it here in this thread for others to see.

(http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/qq326/WingsofFuryPhotography/Mammals/ResizedScarboroughBluffsCoyote.jpg)

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Post by: Turtlebird on May 11, 2010, 12:25:03 AM

Unfortunately there are a lot of myths about wolves and coyotes!  They do not hybridize...wolves kill coyotes, they hate them.  Where wolves thrive, coyotes do not.  Wolves havn't been found in Southern Ontario for many decades.  However, coyotes can and do hybridize with domestic dogs (like the large breeds often kept on rural farms) which results in these "extra-large" coyotes, and confusion about what they are.  Another common name for coyotes is "Brush Wolf", which just adds to the confusion.  I know a few people who adamantly swear they have seen a wolf in Southern Ontario, but as of yet there is no evidence to support this.

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Post by: Anonymous on May 11, 2010, 10:38:18 AM

Sorry Turtlebird, but I vehemently disagree with you on a lot of different fronts here.

Here's a link to an article for you to read:  http://www.thestar.com/unassigned/article/681632 (http://www.thestar.com/unassigned/article/681632)

As for there being no wolves in southern Ontario, at least for decades as you mention in your post, there is a lot of evidence to the contrary.  One only has to go 30 minutes north of Toronto to find a wolf pack.

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Post by: egret on May 11, 2010, 05:40:51 PM

I am very sad to read about this
and do not need to see the pictures

Tks for sharing this info

I am now reading an article
in Natl Geographic on Wolves
and how they are hated


by SOME


Egret

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Post by: Axeman on July 15, 2010, 05:15:47 PM

So...was there any conclusion here? Was it a wolf or coyote?

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Post by: ravynne40 on July 15, 2010, 06:28:58 PM

Great article, these guys have been around for quite some time, we just haven't seen them!

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Post by: Kin Lau on July 16, 2010, 08:56:17 AM

It might be good to remember that the wolves in southern Ontario are not Gray wolves, they're Eastern Canadian Wolves, which _do_ hybridize with coyotes.

Gray Wolves are a completely different story. They _don't_ hybridize, and they're _huge_ compared to a Coyote. The first time I saw a Black-morph Gray wolf in Manitoba, I thought I was looking at a black bear.

The Algonquin wolf page has a pretty good writeup. http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/nature/m ... olves.html (http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/nature/mammals/whatr_wolves.html)