1974 THEY HAD A GOOD MEAL

Wolf lovers can be a bit happier this week. Last Saturday two or three wolves caught a big deer on Ryan’s Lake and by all that is left had a few good squares. Ryan’s Lake is about three miles east of Kearney (Car-knee) on the road going to Rain Lake in Algonquin Park. During the winter months, unless there is work going on by lumbermen, the road is only ploughed as far as the old Ravensworth Station. There is not too much traffic during the snow season, as far as cars and trucks go, but there are a great many snowmobiles use both the old railroad, now the road, and the road that was in use before the rails were lifted.

The deer was found early Saturday morning, and since it had snowed Friday evening, the kill had to be made after midnight on Friday. The carcass was found by a local resident who reported to the Conservation Officer at Burks Falls, who investigated. In passing, I might say that I am glad that our Conservation Officer is a trained woodsman, and there is not much chance of it being blamed on dogs, as seems to be the usual report in other areas in the north.

A friend and I, who are both on the nosy side when wolves and deer are concerned, went to have a look. It is or was a good-sized buck. My first thought was that I would collect the lower jaws and turn them in, but this had already been done by Ken Maw. When I saw how little of the carcass was left I at once thought there must have been a pack, and just to satisfy myself, looked for tracks. I was quite surprised to see that there had been not more than three, or perhaps only two wolves, and the racks were large. The deer had been chased out onto the ice, and by the tracks it did a bit of slipping. There were no wolf tracks where the deer had made a quick turn, but the wolf must have been near the shore. Marks on the new snow showed that the deer had been knocked down, gained its feet, and in another jump there was a great deal of blood. From the first sign of blood it was only a matter of perhaps thirty feet to where the carcass was on the ice. I did not go too far into the woods, as I did not have snowshoes, but I have since been told there were two or three deer wintering in a swamp about a mile away. The crust made good going for the wolves, but the deer would break through. But one thing I could be pretty certain about, this was not a sick or old deer. I have not seen such a kill for many years, as to find one just after a fall of snow is unusual. In the Park years I saw many kills, but in the last few years, with deer getting so scarce, there is in nearly all cases nothing left but a bit of hair and a few bones.

These killings go on all the time, but not often close to a much-travelled road. It is not out of the way to expect the remaining few deer in that little yard will end up the same way.