wild wolves? understanding human wolf interactions in a coastal canadian national park reserve
abstract
opinion surveys and interviews with park users (chiefly kayakers and canoeists) in the pacific rim (b.c) area, to examine their attitudes about wild wolves (canis lupus). in the broken group islands unit (bgi) of pacific rim national park reserve, there
are increasing accounts of human-wolf interactions due to a combination o f the recent
migration of wolves (canis lupus) into the area and high human use. the wolves have begun
exhibiting less wariness of humans and are learning to forage for food in areas frequented by
visitors. in this island environment, paddlers (kayakers and canoeists) constitute a significant
95% of total users, a highly influential group worthy of study. these increasing human-wolf
interactions have prompted park managers to explore the human dimensions of wolf
management with the intention to reduce risks to both people and wolves.
in response to this need, i used a mixed-methods approach (surveys and interviews)
to find out what attitudes were prevalent among paddlers in this area and how people
perceived and felt about wolves being in the area. during the summer months (july to
september) of 2005, i collected 374 usable questionnaires and conducted interviews with 13
volunteers. the surveys illustrated that most paddlers within my sample felt wolves were
important to the area for their intrinsic value and their relationship to the environment and
other species. the interviews elicited a variety o f emotions, ranging from fear to curiosity to
awe. interview participants also discussed how the presence of wolves affected their
experience in the bgi which ranged from moderately negative to outright positive.
this research provides insight into the complex dynamics at play in wolf-human
interactions within the bgi of pacific rim national park reserve and, by extension,
protected areas worldwide.
collections
- retrospective theses [1604]