The Wrangell Sentinel

Wrangell Sentinel

NEWS NOTES ON
FISH and GAME

The wolf population on Prince of Wales Island took a slight drop recently due to the efforts of two of the local Fish and Wildlife Service men. Lee Ellis and Vern Yadon while on stream survey in Coffman Cove observed five wolves run a small spike buck into the creek and kill it. As neither man was armed they quickly returned to their anchored patrol boat, got Ellis's 25-30 Roberts rifle and hastened back to the flats hoping for a shot at least of one of the predators. By the time they returned however, the wolves had all disappeared into the brush. Ellis and Yadon employing an old trapper's trick simulated a wolf howl, spaced at a few seconds interval and repeated it several times. They were almost immediately answered by the wolf pack from within the woods and shortly, all five animals emerged from the brush at the far side of the flats. They proceeded at a fast trot directly toward the men. When the wolves were within about 200 yards, Ellis started to fire. Unfortunately, his 257 Roberts, just returned from a Juneau gunsmith had not been sighted in and his first several shots were misses. Ellis later learned that the weapon was shooting about 15 inches high and to the left. As it was, he tried to correct the sighting as he fired and managed to kill two of the approaching wolves. Two of the remaining three then turned tail and escaped into the brush. The last one, an old dog, and apparently the sire of what appeared to be a 1951 spring litter, still continued toward the men angling directly toward Yadon, snarling, growling and barking in the manner of a vicious dog. Ellis finally killed him at a distance of 60 feet. Yadon, inadequately armed with a pair of 8x10 binoculars, had become quite apprehensive by this time, and as he reported later, was looking desperately for a hole to crawl into or a tree to climb. Perhaps the old dog was the exception to the rule that says a wolf will not attack a human. Yadon now firmly believes that such an exception is possible.