Wolf enters Karigasniemi yard as Inari reindeer losses mount

A wolf entered the yard of Karigasniemi resident Riku Rasmus and chased his family’s dogs before one of them followed it, Yle reports. The encounter came as wolves in the Inari area have killed more than 120 reindeer during the summer.

Rasmus was at home playing games two weeks ago when he heard barking and noise outside. He saw the family’s three dogs and a larger animal running beside their enclosure. It was a wolf.

Rasmus said the wolf followed the edge of the enclosure while the dogs barked and jumped. He said it did not attack them, although it appeared to nip at them. Compared with the family’s Karelian Bear Dogs, the wolf was almost twice as large.

Rasmus called his father, who was in the village, and then ran outside shouting to scare the wolf away. He later photographed the wolf’s paw print in the sand.

When the wolf moved off, a young male dog escaped through the enclosure and followed it. Rasmus climbed onto an all-terrain vehicle and chased after them.

The wolf and the vehicle travelled side by side, with Rasmus estimating their speed at 60 to 70 kilometres per hour. The dog eventually fell behind, and the pursuit continued until the wolf and dog disappeared into a river.

Rasmus said he had previously seen a wolf only at Ranua zoo. This was the first time he had seen one in his own yard.

The wolf had visited the yard before

Rasmus said one of the family’s female dogs was in heat, which he believes attracted the wolf and made the male dogs restless. His parents had seen a wolf in the yard at night the day before the incident. Some local residents also reported seeing one on a road in the same area the following day, but it has not been seen since.

Wolves have also been observed in the Inari area, where they have killed large numbers of reindeer during the summer. Osmo Seurujärvi, head of the Muddusjärvi reindeer-herding cooperative in north-eastern Inari, said two wolves are now moving in the cooperative’s area. Previously, only one wolf had been seen there.

It is not yet known whether they are the same wolf as the one seen in Karigasniemi.

Seurujärvi said more than 120 reindeer killed by wolves had been found in the cooperative’s area during the summer. He estimated that a similar number of reindeer had not been found.

Harri Norberg, a special planner at the Finnish Wildlife Agency, believes the wolves came from the eastern border region. He said the cycle of damage is being addressed through exceptional hunting permits issued for reindeer husbandry because of damage caused by predators.

Exceptional permits are currently in force in Inari, and new applications are being processed, Norberg said. However, he said wolves are difficult to hunt in summer conditions.

Seurujärvi said that even with the permits, it has been almost impossible to spot the wolves. Searches using all-terrain vehicles and helicopters have failed to locate them, and the effort has been expensive. He estimated the costs could approach 500,000 euros.

Police should be contacted if noise does not drive wolf away

Norberg advised residents to contact the police and, if necessary, the emergency services if a wolf repeatedly approaches people and causes concern in yards or villages, and cannot be scared away by making noise.

Such behaviour is not normal for a wolf, Norberg said, adding that an animal behaving this way is not avoiding people as wolves normally should.