Banff wolves worry officials after train deaths and persistent bad behaviour

The wolves in Banff National Park are taking a licking.

Four of the six pups born in Aprilto the Bow Valley wolf pack have been killed by trains, and now officials are intentionally causing pain to some of the grown wolves in an attempt toreverse bad behaviour that could end up getting the wolves killed.

Officials are particularly concernedabout onemember of the pack that wandered throughthe Johnson Canyon campground and managed to find some human food scraps.

This particular yearling hascontinued to exhibit"inappropriate behaviour," in its quest to find human food, said Steve Michel,Parks Canada human-wildlife conflict specialist.

'We haze them very aggressively'

Normally, Parks Canadadiscourages this kind of dangerous behaviour through the use of radio collars.

But only three of the four grown members of the pack currently wear them.

These collarsallows officialstotrack the wolves' movement and use"aversive conditioning" when necessary to discouragethe wolves from entering specific regions.

"When they come into developed areas, whether it's campgrounds, or picnic grounds, or town sites, we haze them very aggressively away from those locations with a variety of deterrents, including impact deterrents that are designed to cause them pain," said Michel.

The alternative, said Michel, would be to killthe wolves that continue to exhibit this kind of behaviour.

"Once an animal becomes food conditioned, it often can be irreversible," he said.

"Ultimately, that animal may have to be destroyed and removed from the ecosystem. That's something that nobody wants to see in a place like Banff National Park."

Officials urge proper trash disposal

Michel said he remains optimistic that officialswill be able to reverse the bad behaviour ofall four wolves, including the "particularly problematic" yearling.

A wolf warning is currently in effect for all campgrounds and picnic areas in Banff National Park.

Michel urges residents and visitors tostore food properly and dispose of garbage in the designated receptacles.

Failure to do socan result in a maximum fine of $25,000 under theCanada National Parks Act.

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