Cottagers in the Winnipeg area are being warned to keep their pooches safe indoors after a string of wolf attacks left four dogs dead.
The attacks have taken place at Hillside Beach and Victoria Beach, cottage communities north of Winnipeg. In the most recent case, a German Shepherd named Baron was killed after being left outside all night.
The dog’s owner, Lyall Trainor, told the CBC, that Baron was “lured” away from the property by wolves.
“They’ll play like dogs, trying to lure the dogs towards them. Both of our dogs held their ground and stayed by the house that night, but it was a moonlit night, and I could see the wolves jumping around out there trying to get them out of the yard,” Trainor said. “As soon as they’re out of the yard, that’s when they’ll get them.”
In another assault, this time against a Malamute, local police chief Stewart MacPherson described it as “particularly severe.” MacPherson believes the wolves first send in a female wolf to play with the dog, and then attack as a pack. The dog was found dismembered.
Officials with the Department of Natural Resources believe the area’s high-population of deer is partly why the wolves are acting so aggressively towards large dogs. Naturally territorially animals, the wolves see the dogs as competition and kill them to maintain access to their main food source.
So far, a Husky, Pyrenees, Malamute, and a German Shepherd have been killed.
Although the province is enlisting the help of the Manitoba Trappers Association to help catch the wolves, homeowners are being advised to keep their animals indoors at night to prevent further attacks.
