Wolf that killed dog along Juneau trail likely protecting deer kill, official says

JUNEAU — A wolf killed a dog Monday along the Brotherhood Bridge Trail, the second time in six months a wolf has killed a dog in Juneau.

Ryan Scott, a wildlife supervisor for Southeast Alaska for the Department of Fish and Game, said the dog owner lost sight of the dog along the tree line. The owner eventually found the dog dead next to a deer carcass just off the trail.

The site was about 300 yards from the trailhead on Glacier Highway. Officials were called about 8:45 a.m.

Scott's theory is the wolf killed the deer and was protecting its kill, both normal behaviors.

"There was already a kill site there, and potentially the dog wandered into it," Scott said. "You know, the wolf didn't take the dog, it took the deer that was already dead."

He said the dog was off leash and that the owner might have spotted the wolf leaving with a piece of a deer.

Scott said officials removed the remains of the deer to reduce the chance of more trailside wildlife encounters.

Scott said he doesn't think there's any public safety or pet safety issue out of the ordinary on Brotherhood Bridge Trail.

"Keep an eye on your pets. I mean, these are such random things that happen. But it's just keeping an eye on what's going on and paying attention to our surroundings."

Here's his advice for wolf encounters.

"Make yourself big, lots of noise, don't run, stand your ground. It's very similar to what we would recommend for bears," he said.

The last negative wolf encounter Scott was aware of was in November on the Lemon Creek Trail, when a Chihuahua was killed.

This article was originally published at KTOO.org and is republished here with permission.