KETCHIKAN, Alaska โ Alaska wildlife officials are investigating after multiple reported sightings of wolves in the North Tongass area from residents who say the animals appear to be unafraid of humans.
Micah Sanguinetti, wildlife conservation technician with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the department received half a dozen calls related to the wolves on Tuesday. The agency believes there are two wolves that have been roaming around Ketchikan's north end, he said.
"It seems like it's the same two," Sanguinetti told The Ketchikan Daily News (http://bit.ly/1TgsN1y). "We don't believe it's a pack."
One of the calls was from Amy Nieshe, who said a wolf appeared in her yard early Tuesday and stayed for about two hours.
"It is not afraid of humans," she told the Ketchikan Daily News. "It has no issue with people or dogs."
Nieshe said she was alerted to the wolf by her dogs that were locked up outside in a pen and started barking. She said the wolf "was just walking back and forth in front of the pen."
A wolf that was seen on Sunday had attacked a dog that was being walked by a 13-year-old boy, who had let the dog off the leash. The dog survived the incident.
Keith Nelson, the boy's father, said he pulled up in his vehicle less than a minute after the fight started and said the wolf did not run off.
"He wasn't scared of people," Nelson said. "He wasn't going anywhere until I gave him a warning."
A Fish and Game wildlife biologist for the Ketchikan area was sent to investigate.
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Information from: Ketchikan (Alaska) Daily News, http://www.ketchikandailynews.com
